SYNECTIKA RESEARCH AND CONSULTING LTD

Their core work

Synectika is a UK-based research and consulting firm that works on the social, ethical, and regulatory dimensions of technology and health research projects. Their documented EU work covers two distinct areas: operational sensing systems for security contexts (NOSY), and the development of ethical guidelines for informed consent in research involving vulnerable populations (I-CONSENT). They contribute specialist advisory capacity to large multi-partner consortia, likely helping projects meet ethical and regulatory standards, design inclusive participant engagement, and address gender and age considerations in research protocols. As a small consultancy, they appear to function as a focused expert partner rather than a broad research institution.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Synectika's first recorded project (NOSY, 2015–2018) sat within the EU Security pillar and focused on operational sensing systems — a technical, infrastructure-adjacent domain with no recorded social keywords. Their second project (I-CONSENT, 2017–2021) represented a clear shift toward the ethical and social governance of research, centering on informed consent, gender, age, and vaccine research involving vulnerable people. With only two data points the trajectory is tentative, but the pattern suggests a consultancy that entered EU projects via security-adjacent work and then moved toward health research ethics and inclusive research design.

Synectika appears to be moving toward a position as a specialist ethics and inclusive-design consultant, particularly for health and clinical research projects that must demonstrate responsible treatment of vulnerable or underrepresented participants.

How they like to work

Synectika has participated in every H2020 project as a consortium partner and has never taken a coordinator role. Their two projects collectively involved 23 unique partners across 7 countries, meaning they consistently join large, well-networked consortia rather than small focused teams. This pattern indicates they are brought in as a specific expertise provider — contributing a defined deliverable (ethics framework, consent guidelines, social analysis) rather than managing the project as a whole.

Despite only two projects, Synectika has accumulated 23 unique consortium partners across 7 countries — a broad network relative to their project volume, reflecting participation in large, multi-stakeholder EU consortia. Their geographic reach is European, with no documented activity outside the EU and UK context.

What sets them apart

Synectika occupies an uncommon niche: a small private consultancy that bridges operational security/sensing technology and the ethical governance of health research — two domains that rarely share the same partner profile. For project coordinators building consortia that need both technical credibility and demonstrable attention to research ethics, gender inclusion, or vulnerable population safeguards, Synectika offers a compact, specialist resource. Their SME status also makes them eligible for specific SME-targeted funding roles within Horizon Europe consortia.

Highlights from their portfolio

• I-CONSENT
  The most substantive evidence of their core expertise — directly improving EU-level informed consent guidelines for vaccine and clinical research, with explicit focus on gender and vulnerable populations across a four-year project.
• NOSY
  Their highest-funded project (EUR 137,910) and their entry into EU research, showing a breadth of engagement beyond ethics into security and operational sensing systems.