INSTITUTT FOR FREDSFORSKNING

Their core work

PRIO (Peace Research Institute Oslo) is one of the world's leading independent peace and conflict research institutes. They study the root causes and dynamics of armed conflict, migration patterns, and security threats — combining quantitative forecasting methods with deep qualitative fieldwork. Their work directly informs European policy on migration management, conflict early-warning systems, and the intersection of climate change with security. They bridge academic research and real-world impact, producing evidence that governments, international organizations, and NGOs use to anticipate and respond to crises.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their earlier H2020 work (2015–2018), PRIO focused on migration governance, the migration–development nexus, and climate-security linkages, with projects like MIGNEX and CLIMSEC grounded in policy-oriented qualitative and comparative methods. From 2019 onward, their research shifted toward more ambitious and interdisciplinary directions: evolutionary psychology of warfare (AWAR), quantitative migration forecasting (QuantMig, FUMI), social mobility patterns in Asia (MigrationRhythms), and gendered dimensions of conflict (EuroWARCHILD). The trend is a clear move from descriptive policy research toward predictive, data-driven, and psychologically deeper analyses of conflict and migration.

PRIO is moving toward data-driven forecasting and the biological/psychological underpinnings of violence — expect future work at the intersection of quantitative methods, behavioral science, and migration dynamics.

How they like to work

PRIO balances leadership and partnership almost equally, coordinating 5 of 11 projects — notably all their ERC grants (where they are PI institution) plus the large MIGNEX project. As a participant, they join mid-sized consortia addressing EU-wide policy challenges. With 51 unique partners across 23 countries, they operate as a well-connected hub rather than a repeat-partner loyalist, making them an accessible and experienced consortium partner for new collaborations.

PRIO has collaborated with 51 distinct partners across 23 countries, indicating a broad pan-European and global network. Their projects span from African and Asian field research contexts to core EU policy institutions, giving them reach well beyond Scandinavia.

What sets them apart

PRIO stands out for combining hard quantitative methods (forecasting, scenario modeling) with deep field-based qualitative research on some of the most sensitive topics in peace studies — from children born of war to the evolutionary psychology of aggression. Unlike many social science institutes, they have secured 6 ERC grants (Starting, Consolidator, and Advanced), signaling that individual PRIO researchers are recognized at the highest levels of European research excellence. For consortium builders, PRIO brings both scientific credibility and genuine policy impact on migration and conflict — a rare combination.

Highlights from their portfolio

• FUMI
  Largest single grant (EUR 2M ERC Consolidator), running until 2026, combining ethnographic fieldwork with migration forecasting — represents PRIO's methodological ambition.
• AWAR
  Unusual for a peace institute: an ERC-funded project applying evolutionary psychology to understand warfare, signaling PRIO's willingness to cross disciplinary boundaries.
• MIGNEX
  Large coordinator-led RIA (EUR 2M) tackling migration–development policy coherence across multiple countries — PRIO's flagship policy-impact project.