ORGANIZATIA NEGUVERNAMENTALA ECOLOGISTA MARE NOSTRUM

Their core work

Mare Nostrum NGO is a Romanian ecological association based in Constanta on the Black Sea coast, focused on marine environmental advocacy, public awareness, and the interface between scientific research and civil society. In EU research consortia, they serve as the civil society bridge — connecting scientific outputs to local communities, regional authorities, and non-academic audiences in the Black Sea region. Their core contribution is stakeholder engagement: mobilising local knowledge, facilitating public participation in marine governance, and helping research projects reach communities that science alone cannot. Their coastal location gives them on-the-ground legitimacy that academic institutions cannot replicate in Black Sea environmental projects.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their first project (MARINA, 2016-2019), Mare Nostrum's contribution centred on knowledge-sharing infrastructure and understanding socio-technical ecosystems — a meta-level role focused on how research communities connect and share, rather than the science itself. By their second project (DOORS, 2021-2025), the focus shifted decisively toward applied marine themes: blue growth, ecosystem services, climate change, and direct stakeholder involvement in Black Sea governance. This progression suggests they have moved from being a generalist civil society connector in European marine networks to a more specialised advocate with a defined Black Sea ecological agenda.

Mare Nostrum is deepening its focus on applied Black Sea ecology and climate adaptation, positioning itself as the go-to civil society partner for projects that need credible regional engagement in this specific sea basin.

How they like to work

Mare Nostrum has never led an H2020 project, always joining as a consortium participant — consistent with an NGO that brings regional legitimacy and community access rather than scientific or administrative coordination capacity. Despite only two projects, they have engaged with 49 unique partners across 19 countries, which means they consistently join large, internationally diverse consortia typical of European marine research. This breadth relative to project count signals that they are sought-after as a specific type of partner — the Black Sea civil society voice — rather than a generalist participant.

With 49 unique partners across 19 countries from just two projects, Mare Nostrum is embedded in large pan-European marine research consortia. Their network is geographically broad but thematically consistent — marine, environmental, and blue growth research communities.

What sets them apart

Mare Nostrum occupies a niche that academic institutions cannot fill: an ecologically-focused NGO physically located on the Black Sea coast with demonstrated experience in connecting EU-funded marine science to local communities. For any consortium targeting the Black Sea — whether on fisheries, climate adaptation, blue growth, or marine governance — they provide the civil society legitimacy and regional access that reviewers and project officers expect to see. Their dual experience in both knowledge-platform projects (MARINA) and applied ecological projects (DOORS) makes them more versatile than a single-issue advocacy group.

Highlights from their portfolio

• DOORS
  Their largest project (EUR 200,000, 2021-2025) and their most applied work — directly targeting Black Sea open research infrastructure, climate change, and ecosystem services, cementing their role as the primary civil society partner for Black Sea marine governance.
• MARINA
  Their entry into H2020 via a pan-European marine knowledge-sharing platform gave Mare Nostrum a broad network of 49 partners across 19 countries from a single project, establishing their credentials well beyond Romania.