Czech innovation agency operating as National Contact Point across all H2020 pillars and delivering SME innovation management through the Enterprise Europe Network.
TC Praha is the Czech Republic's principal innovation support and policy advisory body for EU research programmes. They operate as a National Contact Point (NCP) across nearly all Horizon 2020 thematic areas — security, space, ICT, energy, environment, nanotechnologies — helping Czech researchers and SMEs navigate EU funding, build international consortia, and improve proposal quality. They also run the Czech node of the Enterprise Europe Network, delivering innovation management and technology transfer services directly to SMEs. Beyond support services, they contribute to EU-wide policy research on science-society relations, responsible research and innovation, and citizen engagement in R&D governance.
Participated in NCP networks for nearly every H2020 pillar — SEREN (security), Idealist (ICT), COSMOS2020 (space), NCPs CaRE (environment), BioHorizon (food), RICH (research infrastructure), and more.
Coordinated four consecutive BISONet projects (2014–2021) delivering innovation management capacity building for Czech SMEs through the Enterprise Europe Network.
Contributed to SiS.net2, SiS.net3, CIMULACT, and GoNano — projects on science-society dialogue, citizen consultation, and governance of emerging technologies.
Active in NCP Academy (both rounds) and NCP_WIDE.NET, focused on professionalising NCP services and cross-cutting quality standards.
Recent participation in FIT-4-NMP (supporting newcomers to manufacturing programmes) and ADMA TranS4MErs (advanced manufacturing training for SMEs).
Partner in RISIS 2, a research infrastructure for science, technology, and innovation policy studies providing datasets and analytical tools.
In 2014–2018, TC Praha focused heavily on building NCP networks across thematic areas (security, space, ICT, environment, food, research infrastructure) and establishing its role as an EU programme intermediary with strong emphasis on training and dissemination. From 2019 onward, the focus shifted toward SME-oriented innovation support (EIC, SME Instrument, advanced manufacturing) and preparing for the transition to Horizon Europe, with growing involvement in governance and citizen engagement topics. The trajectory shows a move from broad NCP networking toward targeted SME capacity building and manufacturing transformation.
TC Praha is pivoting from broad programme support toward targeted SME transformation services, particularly in advanced manufacturing — making them an increasingly relevant partner for industry-facing projects.
TC Praha overwhelmingly operates as a consortium partner (25 of 30 projects) rather than a coordinator, reflecting their role as a national support node within pan-European NCP networks. They coordinated only the BISONet series — their own Czech EEN innovation management programme. With 214 unique partners across 50 countries, they function as a high-connectivity hub, well-suited to help new partners navigate EU project ecosystems and find collaborators across Central and Eastern Europe.
With 214 unique consortium partners spanning 50 countries, TC Praha has one of the broadest collaboration networks of any Czech research organisation — a direct result of their role in pan-European NCP networks touching nearly every H2020 thematic area.
TC Praha's defining advantage is breadth: few organisations in Central Europe have active involvement across as many H2020 thematic areas simultaneously. They are not a deep technical research lab but rather the connective tissue between Czech innovators and the European research ecosystem. For any consortium seeking a Czech partner who understands EU programme mechanics, can mobilise local SMEs, and has pre-existing relationships with NCP offices across Europe, TC Praha is an obvious first call.
