Fund Category: European calls dedicated to Maritime surveillance

Funding Operators: EU

Call text:

Specific Challenge: In Europe, practitioners interested in the uptake of security research and innovation are dedicated to performing their duty and are focused on their tasks. In general, however, practitioner organizations have little scope to free workforces from daily operations in order to allocate time and resources to monitor innovation and research that could be useful to them. They have few opportunities to interact with academia or with industry on such issues. All stakeholders – public services, industry, academia – including those who participate in the Security Advisory Group, recognize this as an issue.

Scope: Practitioners are invited to associate in 4 different categories of networks in the field security:

  1. [2019-2020] Practitioners (end-users) in the same discipline and from across Europe are invited to get together: 1) to monitor research and innovation projects with a view to recommending the uptake or the industrialisation of results, 2) to express common requirements as regards innovations that could fill capability and other gaps and improve their future performance, and 3) to indicate priorities as regards areas requiring more standardisation. Opinions expressed and reported by the networks of practitioners should be checked against what can be reasonably expected, and according to which timetable, from providers of innovative solutions. In 2019, proposals are invited in two specific areas of specialisation: the protection of public figures; the handling of hybrid threats.

 [2019] Border and coast guard organizations, procurement authorities, industry and researchers are invited to join forces and draft the roadmaps necessary to provide innovative, future solutions for border and coast surveillance, control and management, in the context of integrated border management and “dematerialised” borders. Whilst practitioners need to be in the lead for expressing requirements, the largest number of (national) research organizations and industry participants should also be involved in the consortium. The management of EU borders requires more interoperability among systems in order to improve capabilities. Industry is not encouraged to invest in innovation given the small size of national markets and national authorities hesitate to invest in innovative solutions not knowing the intentions of their neighbors and of other countries. A roadmap is required for border and coast guard authorities, and industry, to plan ahead and to facilitate future investments into common, interoperable solutions and systems. The roadmap should cover foresight activities, and take account of current and future relevant budget trends in the Member States and the EU.

 

The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU of:

  • about EUR 3.5 million per action for a duration of 5 years (recommended duration) for Parts a) and d);

 

Expected Impact:

Medium term:

  • Common understanding of innovation potential, more widely accepted understanding, expression of common innovation and standardization needs among practitioners in the same discipline.
  • Greater involvement from public procurement bodies upstream in the innovation cycle.
  • More efficient use of investments made across Europe in demonstration, testing, and training facilities.

Long term:

  • Synergies with already established European, national and sub-national networks of practitioners, even if these networks are for the time being only dedicated to aspects of practitioners’ work unrelated to research and innovation (in general, to the coordination of their operations).

Type of Action: Coordination and support action

Deadline to Submit: 27 August 2020