The Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA)

The Finnish Institute of International Affairs is a research institute whose mission is to produce high quality, topical information on international relations and the EU. The research is conducted under four research programmes; the European Union, the Transformation of the World Order, International Politics of Natural Resources and the Environment, and Russia in the Regional and Global Context. The purpose of the research carried out by the Institute is to produce focused information of a high standard for use by the academic community and decision-makers, and in public debate.

 The European University of St. Petersburg (EUSP)

The European University at St. Petersburg (EUSP) is an independent graduate university founded in 1994. It is widely recognized as one of the leading academic institutions in the humanities and social sciences in modern Russia. The European University includes five departments (Department of Economics, Department of Ethnology, Department of History, Department of History of Art, Department of Political Science and Sociology) and ten research & educational centers (Center for European Studies one of them). The enrollment counts approximately 170 students.

Division for Pease and Conflict Research of the Institute of Social Sciences of the Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel(CAU/SHIP)

Founded in 1665 the Christian-Albrechts-University (CAU) is nowadays the largest university in the Federal State of Schleswig-Holstein, with eight faculties (ranging from Theology to Engineering) and a body of students numbering some 20,000. The Division for Peace and Conflict Research forms a part of the 2006 established Institute of Social Sciences and contributes from a perspective of peace and conflict research to its study courses in political science and sociology. By staff, budget and the research focus on co-operation and conflict in the Baltic Sea Region, the Division is the successor institution to the Schleswig-Holstein Institute for Peace Research (SHIP), which in 1995 was established by the Minister for Science, Education and Cultural Affairs of Schleswig-Holstein as an independent institute, but which was integrated to the CAU in the course of 2006.

Department of Economics and Management, University of Helsinki (UH)

The Department of Economics and Management at the University of Helsinki is one of nine departments in the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry. It is the leading educational and research unit in its field in Finland. Its areas of competence include the food cycle and consumption, rural economic development and business activities and the sustainable use of natural resources and the environment.

Department of Economics and Management is currently also participating in two other Baltic Sea projects: Controlling benthic release of phosphorus in different Baltic Sea scales (PROPPEN) and Spatial prediction of benthic habitats in the Baltic Sea: incorporating anthropogenic pressures and economic evaluation (PREHAB)

Department of Regional Studies, University of Tampere (UTA)

The University of Tampere embraces many fields of science and its research profile is extensive and multidisciplinary. There are six faculties and nine independent institutes. The University of Tampere is the biggest provider of higher education in Finland for social sciences and the accompanying administrative sciences. Some 14,600 students are currently pursuing degrees at the University of Tampere. Every year approximately one thousand master's degrees and one hundred doctoral degrees are produced. The personnel number about 2,200. For 2008 the entire budget of the University was in the range of 150 million Euros.

The Department of Regional Studies is an academic community of faculty and students concerned with the societal, economic and environmental development in all its complexity. The Department is nationally and internationally recognized for its interdisciplinary academic expertise in the fields of environmental policy, urban andregional development, local governance and political geography.