THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE LBG

Their core work

ESRI is Ireland's leading independent economic and social research institute, producing evidence-based analysis that informs public policy. Within H2020, they focus on labour market dynamics, educational inequality, and the social impacts of technological change. Their work bridges quantitative social science with policy recommendations, examining how factors like gender, skills gaps, and socio-economic background shape employment outcomes and access to education across Europe.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

ESRI's earliest H2020 involvement (2018) was a third-party role in the environmental geoscience project PACIFIC — likely a minor data or socio-economic impact contribution rather than core technical work. By 2021, their focus sharpened decisively toward social policy: labour markets, educational inequality, and the human impacts of technological change. This shift reveals a consolidation around their true institutional strengths in economic and social research.

ESRI is moving firmly toward the social dimensions of major transitions — how technology, globalisation, and policy reshape employment and education — making them a strong partner for projects needing rigorous socio-economic impact analysis.

How they like to work

ESRI has never coordinated an H2020 project, participating twice as a partner and once as a third party. With 36 unique partners across 20 countries from just 3 projects, they operate in large, diverse consortia rather than small focused teams. This pattern suggests they are sought after as a specialist contributor bringing social science expertise to multidisciplinary groups, rather than driving project design themselves.

Despite only 3 projects, ESRI has built connections with 36 partners across 20 countries, reflecting participation in large pan-European consortia. Their network spans broadly across EU member states with no obvious geographic concentration beyond Ireland.

What sets them apart

ESRI brings decades of institutional credibility in Irish and European social policy research, offering rigorous quantitative evidence on inequality, labour markets, and education. For consortium builders, they fill the critical "socio-economic impact" slot that many technically-driven projects need but struggle to staff with genuine policy research expertise. Their independence from government and universities gives their analysis particular weight in policy-facing deliverables.

Highlights from their portfolio

• PIONEERED
  Largest EC contribution (EUR 205,000) and directly addresses educational inequality across Europe — a high-visibility policy topic.
• UNTANGLED
  Tackles the intersection of technological transformation, globalisation, and demographic change on employment — highly relevant to the EU's just transition agenda.