NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA

Their core work

Armenia's top scientific institution, NAS RA serves as the national hub for research policy, international science cooperation, and SME innovation support. Through the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN), they help Armenian SMEs access EU innovation instruments, manage technology transfer, and build innovation capacity. They also coordinate Armenia's EURAXESS service network, facilitating researcher mobility between Armenia and Europe, and engage in social science research on conflict and memory in post-Soviet spaces.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the early period (2015-2017), NAS RA focused on broad regional STI cooperation — Black Sea partnerships, Eastern Partnership policy dialogue, and initial SME support activities. From 2018 onward, two clear shifts emerged: they deepened their operational SME innovation work (repeated EEN/H2020 Armenia projects with increasing budgets and more specific KAM/EIMC methodologies), and they expanded into social sciences and researcher mobility (DisTerrMem, Euraxess-AM). The Academy moved from being a passive participant in regional cooperation frameworks to actively building national-level service infrastructure.

NAS RA is transitioning from policy-level cooperation into hands-on service delivery — running EURAXESS, coaching SMEs, managing innovation assessments — positioning itself as Armenia's gateway institution for EU research integration.

How they like to work

NAS RA overwhelmingly participates rather than leads — coordinating only 1 of 9 projects (Euraxess-AM, notably their largest at EUR 200K). They work across broad consortia, having collaborated with 36 unique partners in 24 countries, suggesting they function as a national entry point rather than a deep bilateral partner. Their repeat involvement in EEN-type projects indicates reliability and institutional continuity, making them a stable if modest consortium member for South Caucasus coverage.

With 36 partners across 24 countries, NAS RA has a remarkably wide network for its project count, reflecting participation in large CSA consortia covering the Eastern Partnership and Black Sea regions. Their geographic focus bridges the EU with South Caucasus and Eastern European neighbours.

What sets them apart

NAS RA is effectively the only credible Armenian partner for H2020 consortia needing South Caucasus representation. As the country's premier scientific body with both EEN and EURAXESS mandates, they offer institutional weight and government-level access that no Armenian university or SME can match. For projects requiring Eastern Partnership or Black Sea coverage, they are the default — and often only — choice.

Highlights from their portfolio

• Euraxess-AM
  Their sole coordinated project and largest budget (EUR 200K) — established Armenia's national EURAXESS researcher mobility network, demonstrating institutional leadership capacity.
• DisTerrMem
  Largest single funding (EUR 110K as participant) and a strategic pivot into social sciences — conflict memory research in disputed territories, relevant to the South Caucasus context.
• EaP PLUS
  Core Eastern Partnership cooperation project (EUR 78K) that positioned NAS RA as the Armenian node in EU-EaP research policy dialogue.