INSTITUTO SUPERIOR DE ECONOMIA E GESTAO - ISEG

Their core work

ISEG is the economics and management school of the University of Lisbon, one of Portugal's oldest and most established business schools. In H2020 projects, they contribute social science and policy expertise — analyzing gender equality in research institutions, studying territorial cohesion and spatial justice across Europe, and providing economic analysis for sustainable agriculture in Africa. Their role is typically to bring socio-economic research methods and policy analysis to multidisciplinary consortia that need expertise beyond pure STEM disciplines.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

ISEG's early H2020 work (2016–2018) centered on European social policy — gender equality in STEM research organizations and spatial justice in territorial cohesion. From 2020 onward, their focus shifted decisively toward sustainable agriculture in Africa and participation in European research infrastructure and university alliance initiatives. This suggests a broadening from intra-European policy research toward global development economics and institutional capacity building.

ISEG is moving from European social policy analysis toward global food systems economics and institutional research strategy — expect future work connecting development economics with sustainable agriculture.

How they like to work

ISEG has never coordinated an H2020 project — they consistently join as a participant or third party, contributing specialized social science and economics expertise to larger consortia. With 88 unique partners across 30 countries, they are well-connected relative to their modest project count, indicating they work in large, diverse consortia rather than tight repeat-partner clusters. This makes them an accessible and experienced consortium partner who knows how to integrate into big international teams.

Despite only 5 projects, ISEG has collaborated with 88 distinct partners across 30 countries — a remarkably broad network driven by participation in large international consortia. Their reach spans from Western Europe to West and North Africa (Ghana, Burkina Faso, Niger, Egypt, Tunisia).

What sets them apart

ISEG brings something rare to H2020 consortia: a business school's perspective on problems typically owned by STEM researchers. Where most partners contribute technical solutions, ISEG adds economic analysis, policy evaluation, and institutional understanding. For consortium builders, they are the partner who can handle socio-economic impact assessment, policy recommendations, and the human dimensions of technical projects — particularly valuable for proposals requiring social science work packages.

Highlights from their portfolio

• SustInAfrica
  By far their largest H2020 grant (EUR 887K), a long-running project (2020–2026) on sustainable farming across five African countries — signals a major institutional commitment to development economics.
• PLOTINA
  An early project addressing gender balance in STEM research organizations, reflecting ISEG's ability to contribute social science expertise to science policy topics.
• UNITE.H2020
  Positions ISEG within the UNITE! European University Alliance, connecting them to a strategic network for future R&I collaboration across European universities.