MINISTRY OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

Their core work

Tunisia's national ministry responsible for higher education and research policy, acting as the governmental gateway for international scientific cooperation. In H2020, they primarily coordinate EU-Mediterranean research partnerships, manage ERA-NET co-fund programs in water, biodiversity, and climate, and run researcher mobility and public engagement initiatives like the EURAXESS network in Tunisia. Their role is institutional — setting policy frameworks, co-funding national researchers in joint calls, and building bridges between Tunisian science and European research ecosystems.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Early projects (2016–2018) focused on building EU-Mediterranean cooperation infrastructure: designing joint research agendas, promoting open innovation ecosystems, and establishing digital and water-related partnerships (4PRIMA, 5TOI_4EWAS, IST-Africa). From 2019 onward, the ministry shifted decisively toward environmental science — biodiversity, ecosystem restoration, aquatic pollutants, and climate adaptation became dominant themes. This evolution reflects a move from broad cooperation-building toward substantive environmental research governance, particularly through ERA-NET co-funded programs.

MHESR is deepening its commitment to transnational environmental research governance, particularly in biodiversity, aquatic ecosystems, and climate adaptation — expect continued engagement in Green Deal–aligned joint programming.

How they like to work

MHESR operates overwhelmingly as a participant (7 of 9 projects), joining large international consortia — 112 unique partners across 55 countries indicates extremely broad network reach rather than deep bilateral ties. Their two coordinator roles (GREEN NIGHT, TEN) are nationally focused capacity-building projects, not large research consortia. This profile is typical of a national ministry: they join frameworks to ensure Tunisian researchers can participate, rather than leading the scientific work themselves.

Remarkably broad network spanning 112 partners across 55 countries, reflecting their role as a national gateway for international cooperation. Geographic reach extends well beyond Europe into Africa and the Mediterranean basin, consistent with EU-Africa and EU-Mediterranean partnership programs.

What sets them apart

MHESR is the Tunisian government's official entry point for EU research cooperation — no other Tunisian entity carries this institutional mandate. For consortium builders targeting North Africa or EU-Mediterranean calls, partnering with MHESR provides direct access to national co-funding mechanisms and policy-level endorsement. Their strength is institutional legitimacy and ability to mobilize Tunisian research teams, not hands-on technical research.

Highlights from their portfolio

• TEN
  Largest single grant (EUR 200,000) and coordinator role — established the Tunisian EURAXESS Network to support researcher mobility between Tunisia and Europe.
• BiodivRestore
  Long-running ERA-NET (2020–2026) on ecosystem restoration governance, reflecting MHESR's most sustained environmental commitment with inter- and trans-disciplinary scope.
• 4PRIMA
  Early foundational project that helped design the PRIMA partnership — a major EU-Mediterranean research and innovation framework for food, water, and agriculture.