POLICY ENLARGE strengthens evidence-based research and innovation policy making, implementation and support in EU enlargement economies. The project supports structured policy dialogue, peer learning, capacity building and cooperation between policy, research, innovation, business and civil society actors across Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo*, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Türkiye and Ukraine.
Building on the experience, networks and policy dialogue formats developed through POLICY ANSWERS, the project expands established cooperation structures to the wider enlargement region. It contributes to closer integration into the European Research Area, the European Education Area and the European Innovation Agenda, while supporting alignment with EU priorities such as widening participation, Smart Specialisation, green and digital transitions, knowledge valorisation, gender equality and Open Science.
POLICY ENLARGE combines policy dialogue, policy guidance and learning, joint calls and actions, capacity building, communication, dissemination and stakeholder engagement. A new third-party funding scheme will support joint regional innovation actions, collaborative uptake of R&I results and people-to-people cooperation projects.
ZSI leads the work packages on Policy Dialogue and on Communication, Dissemination, Exploitation and Stakeholder Engagement. It also contributes to policy guidance and learning, open call dissemination, success stories, project management and the further development of the Western Balkans Info Hub into an Enlargement Info Hub.
The project is coordinated by the Regional Centre for Information and Scientific Development (RCISD) and brings together 15 full partners and 6 associated organisations. POLICY ENLARGE runs from April 2026 to March 2029.
*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.
