SOCIEDADE PORTUGUESA DE INOVACAO CONSULTADORIA EMPRESARIAL E FOMENTO DA INOVACAO SA

Their core work

SPI is a Portuguese innovation consultancy that specializes in building and managing international science, technology, and innovation (STI) cooperation frameworks — particularly between the EU and third countries like China, Brazil, and the US. They design foresight exercises, facilitate policy dialogues, and run technology transfer and capacity-building programs across sectors. Their practical value lies in connecting research ecosystems across borders: they know the institutions, the funding mechanisms, and the policy landscape on both sides. In consortium projects, they typically handle dissemination, communication, exploitation planning, and international outreach.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In 2015–2018, SPI focused heavily on bilateral STI diplomacy — brokering EU cooperation with China (DRAGON-STAR Plus, EXCITING), Brazil (INCOBRA), the US (BILAT USA 4.0), and the Black Sea/Eastern Partnership regions. Foresight, policy dialogue, and cluster-based innovation were dominant themes. From 2019 onward, their work shifted toward thematic application areas — agriculture and rural development (PoliRural), risk governance (NANORIGO), capacity building, and public engagement — suggesting a move from purely diplomatic STI brokerage toward embedding innovation support within specific societal challenges.

SPI is evolving from a pure international cooperation broker toward a consultancy that applies its global network and foresight expertise to sector-specific challenges like agriculture, environment, and digital transformation.

How they like to work

SPI overwhelmingly operates as a participant (43 of 47 projects), joining large consortia where they handle cross-cutting tasks like dissemination, international outreach, and policy analysis rather than leading the technical research. With 653 unique partners across 67 countries, they function as a network hub — rarely working with the same tight group, instead connecting into new consortia each time. This makes them easy to bring on board: they are experienced joiners who know how to add value without competing for technical leadership.

SPI has collaborated with 653 distinct partners across 67 countries, making them one of the most broadly networked SMEs in the H2020 ecosystem. Their geographic reach extends well beyond Europe to China, Brazil, the US, the Black Sea region, and Eastern Partnership countries, reflecting their international cooperation mandate.

What sets them apart

SPI's distinctive value is the combination of global STI network access with practical project management for EU-funded consortia — a rare profile for a Portuguese SME. Unlike research institutes that bring technical depth, SPI brings geographic breadth: they have working relationships with innovation ecosystems in China, Brazil, the US, and Eastern Europe built over dozens of projects. For a consortium builder, adding SPI means gaining a dissemination and international outreach partner with a proven track record across 47 H2020 projects and genuine contacts on multiple continents.

Highlights from their portfolio

• ERICENA
  SPI's largest project (EUR 776K) and coordinator role — establishing a European Research and Innovation Centre of Excellence in China, their flagship international cooperation effort.
• INCOBRA
  Coordinator of EU-Brazil STI cooperation (EUR 228K), demonstrating SPI's ability to lead bilateral innovation bridge-building, not just participate in it.
• YAKSHA
  Coordinator of a cybersecurity awareness project (EUR 230K), showing SPI can lead in the digital/security domain beyond their traditional STI diplomacy role.