Slovak Liaison Office for Research and Development in Brussels

What Slovak Liaison Office for Research and Development in Brussels does

The Slovak Liaison Office for Research and Development in Brussels (SLORD) is a public-sector liaison office operated by CVTI SR (Centrum vedecko-technických informácií SR / Centre for Scientific and Technical Information of the Slovak Republic), a Slovak state research organization established in 2002. Founded in 2014 and located at Rue du Luxembourg 3 in Brussels, the office serves as Slovakia's official hub for participation in EU research and innovation programmes, primarily Horizon Europe. Its mandate is to help Slovak researchers, universities, and research institutions navigate EU funding mechanisms, build international research partnerships, and access training and professional development opportunities in EU project management. The office is accountable to the Slovak Ministry of Education, Research, Development and Youth and co-financed by the EU under the SK4ERA II project via Program Slovakia and the European Regional Development Fund.

The office's core products are informational and advisory services rather than commercial offerings. Its primary platform is the SLORD portal (slord.sk), a WordPress-based multilingual website that surfaces news, events, and guidance for the Slovak R&I community. This is complemented by the ERA Portal Slovakia (eraportal.sk), a national portal providing comprehensive information about European Research Area opportunities and the Horizon Europe programme structure for the 2021-2027 period. Supporting services include the ProEurópa Network (which connects Slovak universities and hosts vice-rector visits to Brussels), the V4 Training programme for research project managers across the Visegrad Four countries, student internships, professional stays, a university visiting programme, a monthly newsletter, and meeting facilities in Brussels. SLORD also co-organizes Horizon Europe brokerage events with counterpart liaison offices in Hungary, Poland, Croatia, Lithuania, and Romania, and jointly co-chairs the IGLO (International Liaison Officers Group) network alongside PolSCA for 2026-2027.

SLORD operates as a non-commercial public service, with services provided free of charge to Slovak researchers, scientists, universities, and research institutions. There is no revenue model in the traditional commercial sense; operations are funded through EU co-financing (SK4ERA II) and Slovak state resources managed through CVTI SR, under the oversight of the Slovak Ministry of Education, Research, Development and Youth. With only 6 employees, the office is structurally a small diplomatic and informational intermediary rather than a revenue-generating enterprise. Its go-to-market is direct service provision to the defined national research community, supplemented by events, newsletter distribution, and an active social media presence on Facebook and LinkedIn. The organization holds GDPR compliance certification at the CVTI SR level (Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and Act No. 18/2018 Z. z.).

Name

Slovak Liaison Office for Research and Development in Brussels

Legal name

Centrum vedecko-technických informácií SR (CVTI SR)

Website

https://slord.sk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Slovak Liaison Office for Research and Development in Brussels (SLORD) is a publicly-funded government liaison office operated by CVTI SR that helps Slovak researchers, universities, and institutions navigate and participate in EU research and innovation programmes, primarily Horizon Europe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Brussels

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

SLORD is a publicly funded liaison office that provides advisory, informational, and networking services to Slovak researchers, universities, and research organizations seeking to participate in EU research and innovation programmes, with a primary focus on Horizon Europe. Its core offerings include guidance on EU funding mechanisms, training programmes for project managers (V4 Training), an institutional university coordination network (ProEurópa), and access to Brussels-based meeting facilities for the Slovak R&D community.

Product overview

SLORD operates as an information and advisory portal for Slovak research and innovation actors, providing access to EU funding opportunities through its main website and the dedicated ERA Portal Slovakia. The core offering consists of information dissemination about Horizon Europe and other EU research programmes. Supporting services include the ProEurópa Network for university collaboration, V4 Training for project managers, internship and professional stay programmes, a university visiting programme, newsletter subscription, and meeting facilities in Brussels. The organization does not offer a traditional SaaS product but rather advisory, networking, and informational services for the Slovak research community.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• University of Pannonia, HungaryminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 October 2026Co-organizer of Horizon Europe Cluster 6 Brokerage Event: Partnering for Nature, Agriculture and Resilience (October 12, 2026).
• Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences (MATE)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 October 2026Co-organizer of Horizon Europe Cluster 6 Brokerage Event: Partnering for Nature, Agriculture and Resilience (October 12, 2026).
• University of Zagreb Faculty of Agriculture (FAZ)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 October 2026Co-organizer of Horizon Europe Cluster 6 Brokerage Event: Partnering for Nature, Agriculture and Resilience (October 12, 2026).
• Lithuanian RDI Liaison Office (LINO)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 October 2026Co-organizer of Horizon Europe Cluster 6 Brokerage Event: Partnering for Nature, Agriculture and Resilience (October 12, 2026).
• National Centre for Research and Development Poland (NCBR)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 October 2026Co-organizer and host venue provider for Horizon Europe Cluster 6 Brokerage Event (NCBR Office, Brussels, Rue Belliard 40, 1040 Brusel).
• Euro Atlantic Diplomacy Society (EADS), RomaniaminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 October 2026Co-organizer of Horizon Europe Cluster 6 Brokerage Event: Partnering for Nature, Agriculture and Resilience (October 12, 2026).
• IGLO Network (International Liaison Officers Group)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSLORD and PolSCA (Polish Science Liaison Office) jointly assumed the chairmanship of the IGLO network for 2026-2027. The chairmanship represents significant recognition of the professional standing of both offices and enables contribution to the further development of this established network of research liaison officers.
• CVTI SR (Centre for Scientific and Technical Information of the Slovak Republic)coreOthersParent organization operating SLORD. CVTI SR is based in Bratislava and is responsible for the operation of the ERA Portal Slovakia. The SK4ERA II project is co-financed by the EU under the Operational Programme Integrated Infrastructure.
• ERA Portal Slovakia (eraportal.sk)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational portal providing information about European research and innovation funding opportunities, operated by CVTI SR with support from SLORD.
• ProEurope NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetwork under the patronage of SLORD office that connects Slovak universities and provides a platform for collaboration and sharing experiences, including visits of vice-rectors to Brussels.
• Slovak Ministry of Education, Research, Development and YouthcoreOthersParent ministry responsible for research and development policy in Slovakia, co-funder of SLORD operations.

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• NETH-ER (Netherlands House for Education and Research): Brussels-based Dutch liaison office representing Dutch higher education and research interests at EU level. Comparable in providing Horizon Europe intelligence, policy advocacy, and partner-search support, but with a larger institutional footprint.
• Lithuanian RDI Liaison Office (LINO): Brussels-based Lithuanian R&D liaison office that co-organized the Horizon Europe Cluster 6 Brokerage Event with SLORD. Provides comparable Horizon Europe advisory, networking, and information services for Lithuanian researchers.
• PolSCA (Polish Science Contact Agency): Brussels-based Polish R&D liaison office that co-chairs the IGLO network with SLORD for 2026-2027. Operates the same national-liaison model for Polish researchers accessing Horizon Europe, making it the most directly comparable peer.
• CZELO (Czech Liaison Office for Research, Development and Innovation in Brussels): Brussels-based Czech R&D liaison office operating under the Czech Academy of Sciences. Closely comparable in mission, structure, and IGLO-network participation, and a fellow V4 partner referenced through SLORD's V4 Training programme.
• KoWi (Koordinierungsstelle EG): German EU liaison office coordinating German research organizations' Brussels engagement with EU R&D policy. Highly comparable in advisory and information-dissemination mandate, though it serves a much larger national research base.

Others

• EARMA (European Association of Research Managers and Administrators): Professional association for research managers that complements SLORD's V4 Training offering with the EARMA Academy and broader research-management training. Thematically adjacent rather than a direct competitor; serves a pan-European membership.
• EURAXESS (European Commission Researcher Mobility Network): EU-wide network supporting researcher mobility and access to EU funding information. An ecosystem-level counterpart to SLORD's services; SLORD effectively acts as a Slovakia-specific national node within this broader EU infrastructure.
• CVTI SR (Centre for Scientific and Technical Information of the Slovak Republic): SLORD's parent organization and operator, also running the ERA Portal Slovakia. Not a peer in the competitive sense, but the closest institutional sibling; any scaling of SLORD's activities flows through CVTI SR's broader national research-information mandate.

Regional players

• NCBR (National Centre for Research and Development, Poland): Polish national R&D funding and policy body that hosted the co-organized Horizon Europe Cluster 6 Brokerage Event in Brussels. Comparable in mission to coordinate Polish participation in EU programmes, but operates as a domestic funding agency rather than a dedicated Brussels liaison.

Broad incumbents

• FFG Austrian Research Promotion Agency (Brussels Office): Austrian national funding agency with Brussels representation, supporting Austrian participation in EU R&D programmes. Comparable mission as an EU-funding intermediary, but FFG is a broader national funding body rather than a dedicated liaison office.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/slordsk
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/slovak-liaison-office-for-research-and-development-in-brussels

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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