The INCDSB (www.incdsb.ro) was established in 1996 under the coordination of the Ministry of Education and Research. The INCDSB conducts excellence research in environmental biology, biodiversity, biomedicine, agro-food research, being an important center in the field of Life Sciences. Within this project, the INCDSB has the status of coordinator of the project, being the coordinator of the activities assigned to the Hub. The INCDSBB participated as a partner in the Sectoral project "Preparing the ESFRI project proposal for the founding of the international centre "DANUBIU" for advanced studies for "river-delta-systems” (2013), which led to the submitted in 2015 of the application for entry on road –map ESFRI of the project DANUBIUS –RI. In the period 2013-2015 NIRDBS was involved as a partner in the European project FP7 DANCERS: Danube Macroregion: Capacity building and excellence in River Systems (basin, delta and sea), a project which, in the context of the Danube River- in view of the preparation of the ESFRI application, has developed new research and promotion instruments for research in the Danube and the Black Sea region. The INCDSB is a partner in the DANUBIUS-RI Preparatory phase for the Pan-European Research Infrastructure project, H2020-INFRADEV-2016-2 , where he coordinates WP7-Data Protocols & Handling and is responsible for Task 5.3 - The Role and Functions of the Hub in WP5. The INCDSB has participated in numerous international projects: FP5-1 project, FP6-3 projects, FP7-3 projects, Bilateral Programs-5 projects, SCOPES-1 project, SEE-1 project, EEA-1 project, ERA-MIN-1project.

The coordinating director of the project is Dr. Manuela Elisabeta Sidoroff

The GeoEcoMar (www.geoecomar.ro) was founded in 1993 as the Romanian Centre of Marine Geology and GeoEcology - RCMGG, which in 1996 became an “institute of national interest” under the co-ordination of the Ministry of Education and Scientific Research. The main activities are focusing on marine research, but also on coastal areas, specifically delta and river areas (Danube - Danube Delta - the Black Sea coastal zone- The Black Sea): the assessment of anthropogenic impact on the environment, complex (geological-geophysical- geoecological) research in the Black Sea and other marine areas, studies on natural hazards in the Black Sea, sedimentological, paleoecological and paleo-matinal studies. Currently, the GeoEcoMar represents a pole of excellence in marine research, functioning as a European and national centre for studies on large-delta-river macro-systems. GeoEcoMar has participated in numerous research projects in the EC Framework Programs IV - VII as well as in the current H2020. Since 2010, the GeoEcoMar has coordinated efforts to enlist the DANUBIUS-RI project on ESFRI's list of projects. After being admitted on the ESFRI Roadmap 2016, GeoEcoMar has been the coordinator of the pan-European project to build the future ERIC DANUBIUS - H2020 DANUBIUS Preparatory Phase. The GeoEcoMar has experience in European Research Infrastructures and is a national representative in EMSO-ERIC, member of the EPOS-ERIC national team, member of EUROFLEETS, SEADATANET, EMODNET and HYDRALAB. It was the coordinator of the EC funded project through FP7 - DANCERS and carries on the Nucleus Program "Fundamental and Applied Researches within the Danube - Danube Delta - Black Sea Macro System for the Sustainable Development of Romania by Outlining New Resources and Protecting the Environment" Education and Research and Innovation through the National Agency for Scientific Research (NASR) – National Centre of Programs Management, obtaining funding for 11 projects, 6 of them coordinated by the GeoEcoMar. For all FP7 funded projects, the Romanian funding agency is UEFISCDI via the “Capacities” Programme. The GeoEcoMar carries on a significant international activity within the Framework Programs VI and VII of the European Commission. We are involved in projects financed by other international organisations, like NATO or IAEA Vienna. Bilateral projects with France (IFREMER), Switzerland (CESNE), Italy (ISMAR), Germany (Hamburg University) have been very important for the research strategy of the institute. The GeoEcoMar provides specialty services and consultancy to economic agents from Romania (ex. PETROM, ROMPETROL, CNE, etc) and from abroad (ex. DHV – The Netherlands, JICA - Japan, INDC – Belgium etc).

Project responsible from the first partner is Dr. Adrian Stanică.

The INCDDD Tulcea, (www.ddni.ro), founded in 1970, and has as main activity the fundamental / applied research in the field of ecology / environmental protection, with the purpose of substantiating the management in the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve and other wetlands of national / international interest for biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. As a result of the expertise offered, INCDDD was nominated as: Center for Excellence for Delta and Wetlands, National Reference Center for Land and Fishery Utilization Classes, Scientific Advisor of the Ministry of Environment for the implementation of Natura 2000 Network in Romania, Technological Information Center for Danube Delta of the MRI. The INCDDD fields of research concern: ecology of natural heritage; measures to preserve biodiversity; monitoring of flora and fauna species and environmental factors; hydrological scenarios for ecological reconstruction (improvement of water circulation on the canal network); the recovery endangered species populations; modelling the basic processes in the functioning of aquatic ecosystems; harmonizing socio-economic interests with the purpose of preserving the natural capital; developing the Information System for the Danube Delta. At European level, the INCDDD was a partner in consortium for projects funded under the Framework Programs (PC4 - 1 project, FP5 - 3 projects, FP6 - 6 projects) as well as projects funded by other programs and funds (PHARE, SOCRATES, COST, LIFE).

Project responsible from the second partner is Dr. Iuliann Nichersu.

“Dunarea de Jos” University of Galati (DJUG), www.ugal.ro, is an accredited higher education public institution, with more than 70 years of tradition in education and research. The status of Higher Education Institution has been strengthened in time, starting from the economic and cultural components of Galati city whose history has always been linked to the Danube. Being the most important higher education institution in Southeastern Romania, with 12,000 students, DJUG has 14 faculties which provide students with bachelor, master and doctoral degree courses in various fields: technology, sciences, humanities, economics, medicine, arts. The scientific research activity is carried out in traditional domains, but also in new fields, interconnected to the modern trends of scientific progress, with theoretical and applied impact. DJUG promotes the development of a research environment centred on nationally and internationally competitive technological progress and innovation intended to strengthen the institution status of a centre of excellence focused on generating knowledge and technological transfer, with direct impact on the increase of scientific performance, visibility and service quality to the economic and social environment. The scientific research staff of DJUG consists of specialists and experts in a variety of fields, recognised both nationally and internationally, which has allowed DJUG to participate in numerous interdisciplinary research and development projects. DJUG hosts one of the seven Network Operation Centres (NOC) of the Agency for the Administration of the National Education and Research Computer Network (ARNIEC) which manages the National Research and Education Network (NREN) known as RoEduNet, a network which provides data communication services for all research and academic institutions in Romania. The ARNIEC/ RoEduNet Agency is a member of the GEANT consortium (Gigabit European Advanced Network) which manages the pan-European research and education network. Numerous projects developed and implemented by DJUG had a component which involved hosting, operating and maintaining complex computer systems. Among these, the systems relevant for the Project DANS are: the Parallel Calculating System in the Fluid Mechanics Modeling Laboratory - CFDLAB, the High Performance Computing (HPC) System of the Laboratory for Numerical Modeling in Aquaculture and Molecular Biology of the Romanian Recirculated Aquaculture Systems Modeling Center (www.hpc.ugal.ro) and the BlackSea e-Eye platform (http://e-eye.actedj.ro). The staff involved in these projects, through their research activity and the installation and operation of the aforementioned systems, as well as the experience gained in the management of such projects, have significantly enriched the expertise of DJUG in the field. In addition, DJUG has, thanks to its specialists, nationally and internationally recognised expertise in the field of Danube-specific ecosystem research. This expertise will contribute to the achievement of the Danubius RI project objectives. The participation of DJUG in the Danubius-RI project will also involve specific environmental research, which will continue the tradition of the European Centre of Excellence for the Environment (ECEE) set up 20 years ago.

The project manager representing Partner 3 is Professor Cătălina Iticescu.

The Romania Academy (www.acad.ro) founded on 1 April 1866, is the highest science and culture forum in Romania. The Academy has 3 branches (Iași, Cluj-Napoca and Timișoara). In the DANUBIUS-RI project, the Romania Academy will be represented by the "Sabba Ştefănescu" Geodynamics Institute from the coordination of the Geological Sciences Section, which is also coordinating the Geography Institute and the Comparative Geology Center. The Geological Sciences Section will also collaborate with the Institute of Biology of the Romania Academy, which covers within its umbrella the Sulina Ecological Research Station, a unit designed to study and monitor the biodiversity of the shedding zone of the Danube Delta central arm, Sulina, in the Black Sea. These R&D units have the expertise required to achieve all of the Academy's objectives within the project. The "Sabba S. Ştefănescu" Geodynamic Institute studies mainly the structure and dynamics of the terrestrial lithosphere, focusing on GeoBioSciences through which an integration of knowledge is made between Earth Sciences and Life Sciences. The Geography Institute conducts studies and integrated research in Geo-morphology, Hydrology, Biogeography, Climatology, GIS, and Environmental and Human Geography. The Center for Comparative Geology focuses as main objective on geological research of the country's territory and geoecological conditions in different regions of interest, and primarily in the Danube-Danube Delta-Black Sea System. The Institute of Biology runs the "Sturion 2020 Program. Conservation of sturgeons in the Danube basin - a complex environmental - economic - social approach", a flagship project of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region.

Project responsible from the fourth partner is. Acad. Nicolae Panin