Annual Report 2025

25 years ago, in 2001, the institute started its activities in Bruges, with the support of the Flemish Community and in partnership with the College of Europe, under the leadership of its first director Dr. Van Langenhove. The institute gradually established itself as the go-to knowledge center for the comparative study of regionalism and multi-level governance on neutral (UN) ground. Since 2016 it has continued its work in partnership with Ghent University and Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB).

Since the start of the institute, 640 personnel have been connected to the institute, including visiting and associated researchers, representing 90 nationalities. Around it, a global research community has been shaped, bound by an interest in regional governance, sharing conceptual frameworks, methodologies, and data. UNU-CRIS has actively participated in major European research projects (GARNET, EU-GRASP, GR:EEN, Jean Monnet CRiFT, EL-CSID), as well as in policy-oriented projects for local and international authorities (Flanders, ASEAN, ERIA, EU, OECS, UNDP, ILO, UNESCO…). More than 2000 publications with a UNU-CRIS connection have been published so far, including several key reference works in the field. Several capacity building programmes have been implemented, including its annual doctoral schools and the School of Modern Diplomacy, with hundreds of alumni.

To celebrate these 25 years, a major publication project was launched that led to the publication of two volumes with 100 essays by authors from all over the world reflecting on the past, present and future of regionalism studies (Acharya et al. (Eds.), Essays on Global Regionalism, Springer). 

2025 was also a year to look forward and reflect on the future of the institute in a rapidly changing world. UNU Regions was conceived as the guiding concept for the coming years. The underlying idea is to become physically present in the major world regions by transforming UNU-CRIS into a multi-campus UNU Regions. This way, the institute will be better connected to researchers and policy-makers worldwide to study the continuing, if not increasing, role of regions in global, national and local governance, while also becoming a larger, more resilient and financially stable organization. We are indeed conscious that this transformation takes place in a challenging context for the UN and its constituent parts, including UNU. The wider stakeholder community around the institute firmly believes, however, in the key convening role of our unique non-partisan institute and its continuing contributions to more effective governance.

Philippe De Lombaerde
Director of the United Nations University Institute on Comparative Regional Integration Studies