NEW EUROPE CENTER FOR REGIONAL STUDIES SDRUZHENIE

Their core work

The New Europe Center for Regional Studies is a Bulgarian civic association based in Plovdiv that conducts applied social science research on European regional and societal challenges. Their work spans youth civic participation, economic inequality, migration dynamics, and human capital development — areas with direct policy relevance for Central and Eastern Europe. In H2020, they contributed as a regional partner in large international consortia, most likely providing local fieldwork access, case study data, and grounded knowledge of post-communist social transformation. Their research outputs serve policymakers, civil society organizations, and EU institutions rather than commercial markets.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Both of NEC's H2020 projects began in 2015, so a meaningful temporal evolution within this dataset cannot be established — they represent a single cohort of activity rather than a progression across time. PARTISPACE focused on participatory democracy and youth engagement spaces, while GEMM addressed quantitative socioeconomic themes: inequality, growth, and human capital. Whether this reflects parallel research tracks or a gradual pivot toward economic analysis is impossible to determine from the available data. No H2020 activity is visible after 2018, leaving the organization's current research direction unknown.

With no detectable H2020 activity after 2018, it is unclear whether NEC has continued EU research engagement — potential collaborators should verify current operational status before reaching out.

How they like to work

NEC has participated exclusively as a consortium member across both projects, never as a coordinator, suggesting they function best as a specialist regional partner rather than a project manager. Their two projects involved 18 unique partners across 11 countries — an unusually broad network for just 2 projects — indicating they join large, multi-country social science consortia. This profile fits an organization that brings geographic and contextual value (Bulgarian and Balkan regional perspective) to European research efforts led by others.

NEC has built connections with 18 unique partners across 11 countries from only 2 projects, reflecting participation in large pan-European RIA consortia typical of the H2020 Society pillar. Their reach suggests established relationships with Western and Central European social science institutions, though no repeat partnership patterns can be detected from this dataset.

What sets them apart

NEC is one of few Bulgarian civic research organizations with direct H2020 experience in social science RIAs focused on inequality and youth participation — two persistent priorities in EU cohesion policy. Their Plovdiv base positions them to supply credible Central and Eastern European regional data and case studies that Western European consortium leaders frequently need to satisfy geographic diversity requirements. For a consortium building around social cohesion, migration, or youth policy themes, NEC offers rare ground-level access in a less-represented EU region.

Highlights from their portfolio

• PARTISPACE
  The larger of NEC's two projects at EUR 175,187, PARTISPACE investigated youth participation across formal and informal spaces — a high-policy-relevance topic directly linked to EU Youth Strategy and civic engagement agendas.
• GEMM
  GEMM connected growth, equal opportunities, and migration in a single research frame, making NEC's contribution relevant to ongoing EU debates on labor mobility, regional disparities, and social cohesion.