The main goal of the initiative is to bridge the gap between research and development of innovative solutions and the business sector.

Bridging the gap between research and business, we are working towards the development, identification and commercialization of viable opportunities in climate change and sustainable development innovations. Drawing on an extensive network of partners, we work with the brightest minds to an ecosystem where promising ideas can take shape and materialize into real-world solutions. We bring together researchers, innovators, start-ups, funders, investors, incubators and business people, in order explore innovative business models to turn state-of-the-art solutions to a myriad of development challenges, into commercially sustainable products and services. 

The Alliance of Excellence for Research and Innovation on Aephoria (AE4RIA) is an e-network of four research and innovation centres:

• Research Laboratory on Socio-Economic and Environmental Sustainability (ReSEES) at Athens University of Economics and Business - https://www.dept.aueb.gr/en/ReSEES
• Sustainable Development Unit (SD.U) at ATHENA Information Technology Research Center - https://www.athenarc.gr/en/sdu/identity
• International Centre for Research on the Environment and the Economy (ICRE8) - https://ae4ria.org/icre8/
• Stochastic Modeling and Applications Laboratory at Athens University of Economics and Business - https://aueb-analytics.wixsite.com/stochastics-lab?lang=en

Three Innovation Acceleration Hubs:

• EIT Climate KIC Hub Greece - https://climate-kic-hub-greece.org/
• Maritime ClimAccelerator - http://maritime-accelerator.org/
• BRIGAID Connect Association - http://brigaidconnect.com/about-brigaid-conne-we-support-resilience-through-innovation/

And supports the following Scientific Associations and Science-Policy Networks:

• Sustainable Development Solutions Network - https://www.unsdsn.org/
• SDSN Europe - https://sdsn.eu/
• SDSN Greece - https://ae4ria.org/sdsn-greece/
• European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists - https://www.eaere.org/
• Water Europe - https://watereurope.eu/
• NEXUS Cluster - https://nexuscluster.eu/Home.aspx

One of the most basic results of the initiative is the provision and access to innovative solutions and products by the majority of companies from all sectors. In this direction, the network of AE4RIA (Alliance of Excellence for Research and Innovation on Aephoria - https://ae4ria.org/) cooperates closely with the EIT-Climate-KIC Greece Hub (https://www.climate-kic.org/countries/greece/) and the BRIGAID CONNECT initiative (http://brigaidconnect.com/).
The EIT Climate-KIC Greece Hub of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), is hosted by the Sustainable Development Unit of the ATHENA research center, under the direction of Professor P. Koundouri (https://phoebekoundouri.org/) and it is engaged in the effort to achieve a prosperous, climate-resilient society based on a cyclical, zero-emission economy.
Το BRIGAID CONNECT is bridging the gap between innovation and implementation and helps turn ideas into real climate adaptation solutions. This Association is the outcome of a 4-year project (2016-2020) under EU Horizon2020 titled «BRIGAID: Bridging the gap for Innovations in Disaster Resilience» which aimed to effectively bridge the gap between innovators and end-users in resilience to floods, droughts and extreme weather conditions. BRIGAID CONNECT extends this legacy. They are now an independent non-profit initiative, founded by the BRIGAID project’s interdisciplinary experts. Its aim is to extend the BRIGAID support to innovators across Europe, supporting them to develop and implement climate resilience innovations across the continent. BRIGAID-connect association (BRC) developed the Climate Innovation Window (CIW), an online platform showcasing more than 120 climate-resilience innovations and including a number of tools to promote connections between innovators and potential end-users.