Approved research organisation for your ethology and animal welfare projects
The Akongo research consultancy is approved by the French State as a research organisation. For a French organisation, expenses for research work commissioned from Akongo can therefore be included in the French Research Tax Credit (Crédit d'Impôt Recherche, CIR).
Approval, a recognition of our research expertise
Akongo is approved as a research organisation by the French Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation (MESRI). This approval is a formal recognition of our expertise in research and development.
Since 2016, our ethologists and veterinarians have designed protocols and collected and analysed data on animal behaviour and welfare, in zoos as well as in laboratories. This work helps teams make decisions based on scientific data and advances knowledge of the species.
What approval changes for your research projects
The French Research Tax Credit (Crédit d'Impôt Recherche, CIR) is a tax support scheme for companies that invest in research and innovation. As Akongo is an approved research organisation, the work you commission from it can fall within this scheme:
Eligible expenses
For a French organisation, expenses incurred for research services commissioned from Akongo in ethology or animal welfare can be included in the CIR.
Your teams' time measured
We provide tools to easily measure the time your teams spend on research projects.
Co-developing your research programme
Our team supports you in carrying out your research activities
Research projects in zoos and laboratories
Our team handles all or part of a research project, from the literature review to scientific writing (e.g. impact of enrichment, methods for acclimatising animals, comparison of animal management methods). Depending on the project, data are collected by our team, by the organisation's team or by hosting an intern (first- or second-year master's, gap year, post-master's).
Zoos
Research projects carried out with your organisation, in particular on animal welfare: methodology, data collection and analysis, dissemination of results.
Research in zoosAnimal facilities and laboratories
Ethology and animal welfare studies carried out in a controlled environment, following a 3Rs approach: experimental protocols, data analysis, statistical tests, scientific writing.
Research in animal facilities and laboratoriesOur research activity
Alongside the projects carried out with organisations, the team hosts doctoral students, publishes its results and works with other scientific teams.
CIFRE doctorates
We host doctoral students under the CIFRE scheme (Conventions industrielles de formation par la recherche, industrial agreements for training through research), co-funded by the ANRT (French National Association for Research and Technology).
Publications and communications
We publish our results in scientific journals and present them at conferences. We also take part in organising scientific and technical conferences, symposia and workshops.
Scientific collaborations
Depending on the project, we work with scientists from the CNRS, INRAE, universities and veterinary schools.
Recent publications by the team
Find details of our methods in our published scientific articles:
Romain, A., Briard, L., Leroutier, G., Parker, M., Chenet, B., Wagner, C., Petry, A., & Quintard, B. (2026). Animal Welfare Monitor: Raising the bar for species-specific welfare evaluation using Welfare Quality® principles. Animals, 16(5), 842. https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/16/5/842
Caspar-Cohen, J., Demellier, J., Pellé, S., Valenchon, M., Ravel, S., Romain, A., & Petit, O. (2026). The Primate Welfare INdicators project (PWIN): For an objective and standardised welfare assessment of non-human primates used in research. Animal Welfare, 35, e36. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/animal-welfare/article/primate-welfare-indicators-project-pwin-for-an-objective-and-standardised-welfare-assessment-of-nonhuman-primates-used-in-research/A85EE58152D8DD5B89BEB6422133C45F
Entrust us with your research project
Learn more about our solutions
- Methodology
Discover our animal welfare assessment method, based on questionnaires and behavioural observations.
- Research Projects
Explore our innovative research projects dedicated to animal welfare.
- Tools
Explore our comprehensive range of tools optimised for managing and analyzing animal welfare data.