Established in 1991, the Applied Research and Communications Fund (ARC Fund) is the premier Bulgarian innovation policy and research institute.

Its mission is

• To drive the development of the knowledge economy in Bulgaria and Europe in line with the renewed Lisbon objectives;
• To promote innovation in the European economy and facilitate the transfer of new and advanced technologies and know-how;
• To support cross-border networking and capacity building of businesses, public agencies or private organizations, by using the advances in information and communication technologies.

ARC Fund is actively involved in the efforts to shape policies and developments towards information society and knowledge economy in a national, regional, European and global context. These aims are pursued by:

• Conducting applied research and analyses that assist the development and implementation of public policies ;
• Introducing new policy concepts and innovative policy-making tools (e.g. foresight);
• Promoting public policy consensus by bringing together the key actors in government, industry and civil society, and by forming coalitions and public-private partnerships;
• Building capacity in various professional groups by providing specialized trainings and facilitating the transfer of knowledge and international good practice;
• Enhancing the capacity of companies to innovate by providing technology brokering and consulting services;
• Designing innovative solutions to development problems by initiating pilot projects that demonstrate the values of technologies, including ICTs, in strengthening democratic governance, empowering civil society, and developing competitive businesses.

Source: http://www.arcfund.net/index.php?id=377 as accessed on March 2014.