SDRUZHENIE FORUM NAUKA

Their core work

Association Forum Science is a Bulgarian NGO dedicated to science communication and public engagement, best known for organizing European Researchers' Night events in Bulgaria. They design interactive science activities — competitions, hands-on experiments, and participatory events — that bridge the gap between researchers and the general public. More recently, they have expanded into supporting researchers' career development and talent attraction within the knowledge triangle of research, education, and innovation.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their early H2020 period (2016-2020), Forum Science focused heavily on public-facing science events — Researchers' Night celebrations with hands-on activities, competitions, and broad audience engagement, while also weaving in entrepreneurship and innovation themes. From 2020 onward, they shifted toward researcher-centric work: career development, talent attraction, and positioning researchers within the knowledge triangle. This evolution suggests a move from purely outreach-oriented work toward addressing structural challenges in the research workforce.

They are moving from general public engagement toward targeted researcher support, suggesting future interest in projects addressing brain drain, research careers, and the knowledge triangle in Central/Eastern Europe.

How they like to work

Forum Science operates exclusively as a participant, never as a coordinator, which is typical for smaller NGOs contributing specific national-level outreach capacity to larger consortia. With 31 unique partners across only 2 countries, they likely participate in nationally-focused consortium clusters within broader MSCA initiatives. Their repeat involvement in successive editions of the same project concepts (FRESH→REFRESH, K-TRIO 4→K-TRIO 5) indicates they are a reliable delivery partner that consortia invite back.

They have worked with 31 partners across 2 countries, suggesting they operate within nationally-anchored consortia — likely Bulgarian institutions collaborating together on MSCA Researchers' Night or similar coordination actions. Their network is narrow geographically but relatively dense in partners.

What sets them apart

Forum Science brings consistent, on-the-ground science communication capacity in Bulgaria — a country where public engagement infrastructure is limited. Their value lies in being a proven local delivery partner for EU-wide outreach initiatives, with six years of continuous involvement in MSCA coordination actions. For consortium builders targeting Bulgarian public engagement or researcher career support, they offer an established track record and local networks that are hard to replicate.

Highlights from their portfolio

• REFRESH
  Second-generation Researchers' Night project showing sustained commitment and iterative improvement, with added interdisciplinary and cultural heritage dimensions.
• K-TRIO 5
  Their most recent and highest-funded project (EUR 18,500), marking a strategic pivot from public engagement to researcher career development and talent attraction.