ARC FUND

ARC Fund and MIT REAP: Advancing Bulgaria’s Innovation Ecosystem

Connecting research, entrepreneurship and innovation The Applied Research and Communications Fund (ARC Fund) is part of Bulgaria’s team in the MIT Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Program (MIT REAP), a global initiative led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) that helps regions strengthen innovation-driven entrepreneurship and accelerate economic development. MIT REAP brings together leaders from the corporate sector , public institutions, academia, the entrepreneurship community and venture capital investors to develop strategies that turn a region’s innovation potential...

2024 Annual Report

The year of 2024 marked the 20th anniversary of the Innovation.bg flagship initiative of ARC Fund: the 20th National Innovation Forum and the Innovation Enterprise of the Year Awards were held on 10 December 2024...

2021 Highlights

Innovation.bg has been ARC Fund’s flagship initiative since 2004. It encompasses the Innovation.bg report, the National Innovation Forum and the Innovative Enterprise of the Year contest. The Innovation.bg report provides annual assessments of the Bulgarian economy’s innovation performance and of the innovation system’s current status and development prospects. The main theme of Innovation.bg 2021 is “Building Innovation Recovery and Resilience in Bulgaria”. The report analyses the policy of the Bulgarian government for supporting competitive businesses. The National Innovation Forum...

2020 Highlights

Innovation.bg has been ARC Fund’s flagship initiative since 2004. It encompasses the Innovation.bg report, the National Innovation Forum and the Innovative Enterprise of the Year contest. The Innovation.bg report provides annual assessments of the Bulgarian economy’s innovation performance and of the innovation system’s current status and development prospects. The leading theme of Innovation.bg 2020 is the strategic framework of the European Commission for the programming period 2021-2027 with its priorities and measures for a more innovative and green European economy. The report focuses on...

2019 Highlights

Innovation.bg has been ARC Fund’s flagship initiative since 2004. It encompasses the Innovation.bg report, the National Innovation Forum and the Innovative Enterprise of the Year contest. The Innovation.bg report provides annual assessments of the Bulgarian economy’s innovation performance and of the innovation system’s current status and development prospects. The leading theme of Innovation.bg 2019 is the European science and innovation policy in the next EU program period 2021 – 2027, and the instruments envisaged to achieve its ambitious goals. The National Innovation Forum is a platform...

2018 Highlights

Innovation.bg has been ARC Fund’s flagship initiative since 2004. It encompasses the Innovation.bg report, the National Innovation Forum and the Innovative Enterprise of the Year contest. The report Innovation.bg 2018 presents the progress in the implementation of the national Innovation Strategy for Smart Specialization for the period 2014–2020, reviews the main challenges faced by national and regional authorities, and provides recommendations for better understanding of the process of entrepreneurial discovery and for improvement of the science–business relationships lying at its basis...

2017 Highlights

Innovation.bg has been ARC Fund’s flagship initiative since 2004. Innovation.bg encompasses the Innovation.bg report, the National Innovation Forum and the Innovative Enterprise of the Year contest. The Innovation.bg 2017 report is focused on the technology interlinks of the national economy on a European and global scale with a special attention on the automotive industry and its related manufactures, which increase the attractiveness of Bulgaria for foreign investments as a R&D center, as well as a source of new technological solutions. The National Innovation Forum (NIF) is a platform...

2016 Highlights

In 2016, the Applied Research and Communications Fund (ARC Fund) marked its 25th anniversary, continuously working to promote and shape the information society and the knowledge economy in national and international contexts. Throughout these years, ARC Fund reconfirmed its position as a pioneer and forerunner in the areas of applied research and analysis, foresight and public engagement, innovation and business support, innovative policy-making, and capacity building. It strived to respond to some of the most challenging issues the Bulgarian and European societies face – environmental...

2015 Highlights

Twenty-four years since it was established in 1991 as an innovation policy and research institute, the Applied Research and Communications Fund (ARC Fund) remains dedicated to fulfilling its mission of promoting and shaping the information society and the knowledge economy in a national, regional, European and global context. The means ARC Fund employs to realize this goal are applied research and analyses, design of innovative solutions to development problems, formation of new policy concepts and innovative policy-making tools. As an active and reliable partner, ARC Fund has encouraged...

2014 Highlights

In 2014, the Applied Research and Communications Fund (ARC Fund) capitalized on the momentum of its 23-year history in continuing its mission to promote the knowledge economy. It realized this mission through its applied research and analyses, the development of new policy concepts and deployment of innovative policy-making tools, and by bringing together key stakeholders to discuss and disseminate its research findings. It implemented and managed projects in the areas of science, innovation and information society, technology transfer and business support, a safer online experience for...

2013 Highlights

Over the past 22 years, the Applied Research and Communications Fund (ARC Fund) has established itself as a premier force in innovation policy and socio-economic research in Bulgaria. It has contributed to the creation of preconditions whereby social, technological and environmental innovation can be developed and utilized. It strives to support the development of a knowledge-based and high value-added economy, assist in the transfer of new and advanced technologies, and in the transposition of good policy practices and networking opportunities for Bulgarian businesses. ARC Fund works towards...

2012 Highlights

For its 21 years of existence, ARC Fund emerged as an international think-andaction tank with the mission to incubate social, business and technological innovations, provide research-based and forward-looking policy solutions and facilitate the development of а safer knowledge-based society.  ARC Fund Highlights for 2012: Since 2008 ARC Fund has been the coordinator of Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) in Bulgaria. The EEN is Europe’s largest consultancy and information support network to DG Enterprise and Industry. As in the previous years, the focus was to help the internationalization of...