The Centre for Cross Border Cooperation

What The Centre for Cross Border Cooperation does

The Centre for Cross Border Cooperation (CCBC, formerly the Centre for Cross Border Studies) is an independent charitable organisation established in 1999 and headquartered in Armagh, Northern Ireland. It promotes and supports cooperation across the Ireland–Northern Ireland border as part of the ongoing peace and reconciliation process, and positions itself as the only independent organisation specifically focused on cross-border cooperation on the island of Ireland. Its work is institutionally tied to the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement framework, and it engages legislators, decision-makers, academic institutions, cross-border practitioners, civil society organisations, community groups, and individual citizens crossing the border for living, working, studying, or retirement purposes.

The Centre's core products are content- and service-based rather than technology-based. Outputs include an extensive archive of research reports, briefing papers, and policy responses dating back to 2001; the annual peer-reviewed Journal of Cross Border Studies in Ireland; the annual conference programme (held continuously for over 25 years, with the 27th edition planned for 2026); the Border-Zine monthly newsletter; a Research Platform hosting guest articles and interviews; and the Border People citizen-information portal. Capacity-building products include the Impact Assessment Toolkit for Cross-Border Cooperation (developed with the Euro-Institut in Kehl, Germany), Intercultural/Cross-Border Project Management, Budgeting, and Evaluation toolkits, and 'Getting Started with Cross Border Collaboration' courses delivered via the LearnWorlds platform. The Centre also provides long-running secretariat services to Universities Ireland (a network of 11 island-of-Ireland universities founded in 2003) and SCoTENS (a network of 38 teacher-education bodies). No proprietary software platform, API, AI, or machine-learning capabilities are disclosed; the technology stack is conventional web publishing and e-learning tooling.

The business model is that of a grant-funded non-profit rather than a commercial enterprise. The majority of 2025 funding flows from government and intergovernmental sources: Ireland's Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (€180,000 core), the Department of Foreign Affairs Reconciliation Fund (£96,714), PEACEPLUS (£177,169), the International Fund for Ireland (£25,333), and Jean Monnet (£4,999). Supplementary income comes from secretariat services to Universities Ireland and SCoTENS. Training courses and publications are offered free of charge, and there is no transactional pricing model. The go-to-market motion is community-led and event-driven: research dissemination, policy seminars, conferences, webinars, and direct engagement with policy-makers across the island of Ireland, Great Britain, and Europe.

Name

The Centre for Cross Border Cooperation

Legal name

The Centre for Cross Border Cooperation

Website

https://crossborder.ie

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Centre for Cross Border Cooperation is an independent Northern Ireland-based charitable organisation promoting cross-border cooperation on the island of Ireland through research, training, an annual journal and conference, and secretariat services for Universities Ireland and SCoTENS.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cross-Border Cooperation Research and Policy Services

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (611310), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Erasmus+ and Government-Sponsored Exchange Partnerships (EDAIABAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Articulation & Credit Transfer Partnerships (EDAIABAE)

Keywords

• Cross-border cooperation
• Policy research services
• Capacity building training
• Academic network management
• Peace and reconciliation

Headquarters

HQ city

Armagh

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Government Funding - Core: The majority of core funding comes from Ireland's Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (DFHERIS). This provides essential operating support.
2. Project-Specific Funding: Majority of funding is for specific projects including Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Reconciliation Fund, PEACEPLUS, International Fund for Ireland, and Jean Monnet funding.
3. Secretariat Services: Income from provision of Secretariat services to SCoTENS (Standing Conference on Teacher Education, North and South) and Universities Ireland.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Centre for Cross Border Cooperation conducts independent research and policy analysis on North-South and East-West cooperation on the island of Ireland, delivers training programmes and toolkits for cross-border project management, publishes the Journal of Cross Border Studies in Ireland, and convenes an annual cross-border cooperation conference. It also provides paid secretariat services to the Universities Ireland network and the SCoTENS teacher education network, and operates the Border People information portal for citizens crossing the Irish border.

Product overview

The Centre for Cross Border Cooperation operates as a research and policy organization offering a portfolio of interconnected products and services centered on cross-border cooperation across the island of Ireland. The core offerings include comprehensive research reports, briefing papers, and policy analysis on North-South and East-West cooperation topics; the peer-reviewed Journal of Cross Border Studies in Ireland; and the annual conference programme. Supporting services include the Research Platform for expert contributions, the Border-Zine monthly newsletter, and the Border People information portal for individuals crossing the Irish border. The Centre provides training and capacity-building through the Getting Started with Cross Border Collaboration courses and specialized project management training, supported by the Impact Assessment Toolkit for Cross-Border Cooperation. Additionally, the Centre provides secretariat services to two significant networks: Universities Ireland (11 higher education institutions) and SCoTENS (38 teacher education organizations). Active projects include Border People FLOW, North South ESTEEM, and TEIN.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Research Reports and Publications
• Universities Ireland Secretariat Services
• SCoTENS Secretariat Services
• Impact Assessment Toolkit for Cross-Border Cooperation

Quantifiable outcome

• Quarterly surveys tracking conditions for North-South and East-West cooperation since 2021 (now on 20th edition)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Euro-Institut (Kehl, Germany)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Euro-Institut collaborated with the Centre to develop the Impact Assessment Toolkit for Cross-Border Cooperation, launched at the Cross-Border Training and Impact Assessment in Ireland and Europe international conference in Cavan on 28 October 2011.
• Universities IrelandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounded in 2003 by nine university presidents, expanded to ten members. The Centre provides Secretariat services. Universities Ireland promotes and develops cooperation between universities on the island of Ireland, supports peace and reconciliation, and facilitates international scholar placements.
• SCoTENS (Standing Conference on Teacher Education, North and South)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetwork of 38 colleges of education, university education departments, teaching councils, curriculum councils, education trade unions and education centres. Established 2003 to create safe space for teacher educators. The Centre provides secretariat services.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• British-Irish Chamber of Commerce: Cross-border business membership body promoting trade and cooperation between Britain and Ireland; comparable cross-border remit but commercial (rather than research/policy) focus.
• Centre for Irish and European Security (CIES): Smaller research-oriented body based in Ireland examining cross-jurisdictional cooperation on the island of Ireland; partial thematic overlap with the Centre's North–South cooperation remit.

Direct peers

• Euro-Institut (Kehl, Germany): Bilateral Franco-German institute that supports cross-border cooperation and co-developed the Centre's Impact Assessment Toolkit. Highly comparable mission, scope and toolkit-based offering on a different border.
• Mission Opérationnelle Transfrontalière (MOT): French-led cross-border cooperation support structure for European border territories, providing research, training and policy support directly analogous to the Centre's role on the Ireland–Northern Ireland border.
• Association of European Border Regions (AEBR): Europe-wide network of border regions working on cross-border cooperation, comparable in policy-research, convening and capacity-building activities across many EU borders including Ireland–Northern Ireland.
• Cooperation and Working Together (CAWT): Cross-border health and social care partnership body for the Ireland–Northern Ireland border region, funded by similar EU/peace programmes and serving an analogous North–South cooperation role in a specific sector.

Broad incumbents

• European Policy Centre (EPC): Brussels-based think tank producing policy analysis on EU integration and cross-border issues; broader in scope but comparable independent research and convening function.
• Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS): Larger Brussels-based think tank producing independent research on EU affairs including cross-border policy. Broader geographic and thematic scope but comparable independent research and policy advisory model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ccbscrossborder
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCteSstdnQnWOtyUQw74Nqtw
• Facebookfacebook.com/crossborderstudies
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/centre-for-cross-border-studies
• Instagrambsky.app/profile/crossborder.bsky.social

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Centre for Cross Border Cooperation