UDDANNELSES- OG FORSKNINGSSTYRELSEN

Their core work

The Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science is Denmark's government body responsible for research policy, funding coordination, and international research collaboration. In H2020, it acts as Denmark's national representative in ERA-NET Cofund schemes — pooling national research budgets with other European countries to launch joint transnational calls. The agency does not perform research itself; it co-funds and steers collaborative research programmes across social sciences, humanities, polar science, and agri-food systems. It also supports National Contact Points and ensures Danish participation in pan-European research coordination efforts.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Early H2020 involvement (2014-2018) centered squarely on humanities and social sciences — funding transnational research on inequality, life-course dynamics, and training National Contact Points. From 2019 onward, the portfolio diversified significantly into governance and democracy, polar research coordination, digital transformation, and agri-food systems. The shift suggests Denmark broadened its ERA-NET participation from a social sciences core into interdisciplinary and sustainability-oriented programmes.

Moving toward digital transformation themes and cross-disciplinary ERA-NETs, with CHANSE (their largest project) signaling strong commitment to understanding societal impacts of digitalization.

How they like to work

Exclusively a participant — never a coordinator across all nine projects, which is typical for a national funding agency contributing co-funding rather than leading research execution. Despite this supporting role, the agency connects to 157 unique partners across 37 countries, reflecting the broad multinational consortia characteristic of ERA-NET Cofund schemes. Working with them means gaining access to Denmark's national research funding commitment and a well-connected node in European research policy networks.

An exceptionally wide network of 157 partners across 37 countries, driven by participation in large ERA-NET Cofund consortia that typically involve 20-30 national funding agencies each. Geographic reach spans all of Europe and extends to Arctic nations through polar research programmes.

What sets them apart

As Denmark's research funding agency, this organization brings something most partners cannot: direct access to Danish national research budgets and policy-level influence over research priorities. For consortium builders, having them onboard signals Danish governmental commitment and unlocks co-funding from Denmark's national programmes. They are not a research performer but a research enabler — the kind of partner that makes ERA-NET Cofund proposals credible and financially viable.

Highlights from their portfolio

• CHANSE
  Their largest project (EUR 445K) and most recent, signaling Denmark's strategic bet on understanding digital transformation's social and cultural impacts through a major ERA-NET Cofund.
• DIAL
  Long-running programme (2016-2022) on inequality dynamics bringing together sociology, economics, political science, and demography — a rare cross-disciplinary social science initiative.
• EU-PolarNet 2
  Positions Denmark in Arctic research governance, coordinating the European Polar Research Area and providing policy advice on polar science priorities.