What Science and Research Centre Koper does

Science and Research Centre Koper (ZRS Koper) is a Slovenian non-profit public research institution founded in 1994 and headquartered in Koper, operating 24+ research institutes and service units spanning oliveculture, kinesiology, environmental studies, social sciences, humanities, linguistics, history, law, behavioural economics, viticulture, and Mediterranean cultures. Its research infrastructure includes an ISO/IEC 17025-accredited olive oil testing laboratory using high-performance liquid chromatography, a specialized scientific library integrated with the COBISS/SICRIS national research information systems, and a Bed Rest Center for studying physiological effects of reduced physical activity. The Institute for Oliveculture, established in 1994, was formally designated by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food as the national public service coordinator for olive growing in 2017.

ZRS Koper's revenue is structurally a hybrid of public research funding and transactional service income. Core institutional funding flows from the Slovenian Research Agency (ARIS), the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, and the Ministry of Agriculture, supplemented by competitive EU grants (notably Horizon Europe — the RISTANC €1.97M award for 2025–2028 being the most recently disclosed). Transactional revenue streams include venue hire for events, scientific publishing through ANNALES ZRS (priced €11–€28 per monograph, €15 per journal issue), paid language services in Slovenian and Italian, diagnostic and rehabilitation services at the Mediterranean Health Centre, and fee-based public opinion research. Customer segments are weighted heavily toward the Slovenian government and municipalities, EU research consortia, academic peers, agricultural sector clients (olive growers and olive oil producers), and a smaller healthcare and wellness tail.

The institution's go-to-market is primarily direct — research collaborations are sourced via EU programme calls and bilateral academic agreements; oliveculture services are deployed as a designated national mandate; conferences, summer schools, and scientific publications function as knowledge-transfer and visibility channels. Operating geography is centered on the Slovenian Istria and broader Mediterranean region, with international reach concentrated in EU research consortia and science-policy platforms such as IPBES and MedECC.

Name

Science and Research Centre Koper

Legal name

Znanstveno-raziskovalno središče Koper

Website

https://zrs-kp.si

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Science and Research Centre Koper is a Slovenian non-profit research institution conducting interdisciplinary scientific research across humanities, social sciences, environmental studies, and oliveculture, serving government agencies, academia, and the public through funded research projects and accredited laboratory services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171), Environmental Consulting Services (54162)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Sustainability & ESG Consulting (BPAHACAK)

Keywords

• Interdisciplinary scientific research
• Olive oil quality testing
• Mediterranean environmental studies
• Scientific publishing services
• Public opinion research

Headquarters

HQ city

Koper

HQ country

Slovenia

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Revenue model

1. Public Research Funding: ZRS Koper receives stable institutional funding through Slovenian government programs including the Slovenian Research Agency (ARIS), Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, and Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food. Additional funding comes from European Union research programs such as Horizon Europe.
2. Service Revenue: Revenue generated from paid services including venue hire for events and conferences, language services, scientific publishing (Annales ZRS), and fee-based diagnostics and rehabilitation services at the Mediterranean Health Centre.
3. Public Service in Oliveculture: As designated national coordinator for oliveculture, the Institute for Oliveculture provides public services in olive growing, including olive value assessment, seedling material certification, and technical guidance.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

ZRS Koper is a multidisciplinary public research institution conducting interdisciplinary scientific research across oliveculture, kinesiology, social sciences, humanities, linguistics, history, law, behavioral economics, viticulture, and Mediterranean environmental studies. It sells scientific publications through its ANNALES ZRS publishing house, provides accredited olive oil laboratory testing, public opinion research, venue hire, language services, and operates a Mediterranean Health Centre for functional diagnostics and rehabilitation.

Product overview

Science and Research Centre Koper (ZRS Koper) is a multi-disciplinary research institution organized around multiple institutes and service units. The 'ZRS za vas' (ZRS For You) division provides client-facing services including the Oliviculture Laboratory, Mediterranean Health Centre, ANNALES ZRS Scientific Publishing, Centre for Project Management, Public Opinion Research Centre, Language Services, Library, and Venue Hire. The research portfolio spans 15+ institutes covering oliveculture, kinesiology, social sciences, philosophy, linguistics, history, law, behavioral economics, viticulture, environmental studies, and Mediterranean cultures. The institution operates an online bookshop for scientific publications and participates in national and international research projects funded by ARIS and EU programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ANNALES ZRS: Scientific publishing house of ZRS Koper, publishing and indexing scientific works by Slovene and international researchers
• Svetilnik
• Institute for Oliveculture (IZO)
• Mediterranean Health Centre

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 50 completed national and international research projects in oliveculture alone
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Stockholms universitet (Stockholm University)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2025Swedish university partner in the RISTANC project, contributing to knowledge transfer and European expansion of research outcomes. Part of the Horizon Europe funded project focused on ocean and water restoration.
• CEU GmbH (Central European University)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2025Austrian university partner in RISTANC project, contributing to developing new models for teaching transdisciplinarity and policy formulation for the EU Mission. One of two international partners in the consortium.
• Univerza v Novi Gorici (University of Nova Gorica)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2025Slovenian university partner in RISTANC and MED-STI-K projects. Core consortium member contributing to Mediterranean agricultural and environmental research initiatives.
• Občina Ankaran (Municipality of Ankaran)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2025One of four Istrian municipalities in the RISTANC project, representing local government for coastal restoration initiatives in the Northern Adriatic.
• Občina Piran (Municipality of Piran)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2025One of four Istrian municipalities in the RISTANC project, contributing local knowledge and community engagement for sea restoration efforts.
• Mestna občina Koper (Municipality of Koper)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2025Host municipality for ZRS Koper, acting as core partner in RISTANC project for cross-border Northern Adriatic restoration.
• Občina Izola (Municipality of Izola)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2025One of four Istrian municipalities in RISTANC project, providing local governance support for sustainable sea and coastal initiatives.
• Kulturno izobraževalno društvo PINAcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2025Cultural and educational NGO partner in RISTANC, contributing to social innovation and community engagement for marine restoration.
• Zavod YouSeacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2025Marine-focused NGO partner in RISTANC project, specialized in ocean literacy and marine conservation activities.
• Direkcija Republike Slovenije za vode (Directorate of the Republic of Slovenia for Water)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2025Associated partner in RISTANC providing expertise in water management and policy for sea restoration initiatives.
• Kmetijski inštitut Slovenije (Agricultural Institute of Slovenia)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2022Research partner in the MED-STI-K project (Knowledge Hub for Green, Sustainable and Innovative Mediterranean Agriculture), contributing expertise in agricultural sciences.
• Univerza v Ljubljani, Biotehniška fakulteta (University of Ljubljana, Biotechnical Faculty)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2022Academic partner in MED-STI-K project, contributing to research on sustainable Mediterranean agriculture and knowledge transfer in agricultural sciences.
• Veterinarska fakulteta Univerze v Ljubljani (Veterinary Faculty of University of Ljubljana)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2022Partner institution in MED-STI-K consortium contributing veterinary and animal health expertise to sustainable agriculture research.
• Inštitut za hmeljarstvo in pivovarstvo Slovenije (Institute for Hop Growing and Brewing of Slovenia)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner in GO-TO S-OIL project on olive cultivation soil sustainability, contributing analytical expertise.
• Svetilnik (Publication)minorOthersInstitutional publication partner providing open science communication support to ZRS Koper.
• ARIS - Javna agencija za znanstvenoraziskovalno in inovacijsko dejavnost RScoreOthersSlovenian Research Agency providing core funding and project evaluation for ZRS Koper research activities.
• Mednarodni svet za oljke (International Olive Council)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational organization supporting oliveculture research and standards, with whom ZRS Koper collaborates on olive industry development.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• INRAE (France): France's national research institute for agriculture, food, and environment. Comparable as a public, mission-driven research organization operating accredited food/environmental labs and competing for the same EU Mission "Restore our Oceans and Waters" and Horizon Europe calls.
• National Research Council of Italy (CNR): Italy's largest public research organization with institutes spanning marine sciences, food science, humanities, and biomedical research. Comparable in mission breadth and Mediterranean focus, and a natural cross-border partner/competitor for Adriatic and EU Mission funding.
• Jožef Stefan Institute: Slovenia's flagship multidisciplinary public research institution, covering materials science, biotechnology, environmental sciences, and physics. Comparable as a Slovenian public research organization competing for the same ARIS and EU funding pools, with a much larger scale (1,000+ researchers).

Direct peers

• National Institute of Biology (NIB): Slovenian public research institute focused on biological and ecological sciences, including the Marine Biology Station Piran. Overlaps directly with ZRS Koper's Mediterranean environmental and marine research programs and competes in the same Horizon Europe biodiversity cluster.
• University of Primorska: Public university co-located in Koper with overlapping Mediterranean, kinesiology, and humanities research. Shares faculty, students, and EU-project consortium membership with ZRS Koper and operates the same Euro-Mediterranean postgraduate space.
• Agricultural Institute of Slovenia (KIS): National agricultural research institute and existing MED-STI-K consortium partner. Directly comparable on olivecultulture-adjacent applied agronomy, soil sustainability, and Mediterranean agriculture projects within Slovenia.

Others

• Mediterranean Universities Union (UNIMED): Network linking public universities and research centers around the Mediterranean. ZRS Koper participates through its Euro-Mediterranean postgraduate program, making UNIMED a relevant ecosystem peer and channel for institutional positioning.
• International Olive Council (IOC): Intergovernmental body setting olive oil standards and a named ZRS Koper partner. Not a research competitor but a governing/standards body whose standards drive demand for ZRS Koper's accredited olive oil testing services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/pr.zrskp.si
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/science-and-research-centre-koper-zrs-koper

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries16 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Science and Research Centre Koper