TROPICO is a research project in the field of public administration. Running from June 2017 to November 2021, it has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research programme. 

TROPICO investigates how public administrations are transformed into open, innovative and collaborative governments. With a better understanding of this transformation, collaboration in policy design and service delivery can be enhanced, advancing the participation of public, private and societal actors. The development of information and communication technologies (ICT) and the process of digitalisation offer new prospects for such transformation, and for a more efficient, transparent and effective government. 

In our research, we analyse collaboration in and by governments, with a special emphasis on the use of ICT, and its consequences from a comparative perspective. We examine ten countries, representing different administrative traditions: Anglo-Saxon (the United Kingdom), Central and Eastern European (Estonia, Hungary), Continental (Germany, the Netherlands), Napoleonic (Belgium – mixed, France, Spain) and Nordic (Denmark, Norway). 

Our research is conducted by a Consortium composed of twelve partners from nine countries, representing a range of excellent universities and research organisations. The project team consists of more than 40 researchers.  

• University of Bergen, Norway – Coordinator 
• Cardiff University, UK 
• Central European University, Hungary 
• Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands 
• Hertie School, Germany 
• KU Leuven, Belgium
• Roskilde University, Denmark 
• Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia 
• The French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS)/ Grenoble Institute of Political Studies, France (2017-2019)
• University of Antwerp, Belgium 
• University of Louvain, Belgium (2019- )
• University of Potsdam, Germany
• University of Zaragoza, Spain 

For policy recommendations check out our policy briefs; our scientific papers are available in the Publications section; and for the ongoing research see our blog and subscribe for the newsletter.