Enhancing the security of citizens against terrorism and lone-actor violence in confined spaces such as schools
Programme Category
Programme Name
Programme Description
Horizon Europe is the European Union (EU) funding programme for the period 2021 – 2027, which targets the sectors of research and innovation. The programme’s budget is around € 95.5 billion, of which € 5.4 billion is from NextGenerationEU to stimulate recovery and strengthen the EU’s resilience in the future, and € 4.5 billion is additional aid.
Identifier Code
Call
Summary
Citizens in European schools and other confined spaces (e.g., places of worship, public administration and other buildings accessible to the public) increasingly face various forms of terrorism and lone-actor violence.
This topic aims at providing such places with solutions for ensuring civil security (of pupils, school staff, administrative workers, citizens at large) via exploring various societal and technological means of preventing such threats, with full respect of fundamental rights, such as rights to privacy and the protection of personal data.
Detailed Call Description
Based on a thorough analysis of the phenomenon under consideration in the European context, proposals should look into methodologies of catching and tackling early signs of terrorist threats, isolation and radicalisation, taking into account the social and cultural factors that may influence an individual’s vulnerability to radicalisation, such as gender roles and stereotypes. Proposals should also consider how these factors may impact the effectiveness of prevention programmes and of addressing them by, e.g., creating appropriate programmes, including by modernising approaches for prevention of terrorist and lone actor attacks. Means for raising awareness (possibly training) of the relevant staff (school staff, employees in public administration, etc., in function of the building under consideration) regarding existing risks and for keeping them up to date on security matters should be tackled and designed to be inclusive and effective for diverse groups. Ways of improving cooperation between the relevant staff and Police Authorities in this context should be analysed too. Proposed solutions should be affordable to public schools and other structures accessible to the public that are usually more limited in funding. Proposals are invited from consortia involving Police Authorities and other relevant security practitioners, Civil Society Organisations, Non-Governmental Organisations, and the appropriate balance of IT specialists, psychologists, sociologists, etc. To ensure the active involvement of and timely feedback from relevant security practitioners, proposals should plan a mid-term deliverable consisting in the assessment of the project’s mid-term outcomes, performed by the practitioners involved in the project. Activities proposed within this topic should address the issue from various angles, combining both social research with technological development and applications in a logical manner.
Therefore, this topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research activities.
Proposals should outline the plans to develop possible future uptake and upscaling at national and EU level for possible next steps once the project is finalised. Proposals should also consider, build on outcomes developed by EU-funded projects, such as the ones under HORIZON-CL3-2024-FCT-01-04 and HORIZON-CL2-2025-01-DEMOCRACY-05, and not duplicate previous research. If the proposals concern drug-related issues, they are expected to engage with the EU Drugs Agency during the lifetime of the project, including validating the outcomes. Coordination among the successful proposals from this topic should be envisaged to avoid duplication and to exploit complementarities as well as opportunities for increased impact. Finally, proposals are expected to address all applicable considerations expressed in the Introduction of the Fighting Crime and Terrorism Destination.
Technology Readiness Level – Technology readiness level expected from completed projects
Call Total Budget
Financing percentage by EU or other bodies / Level of Subsidy or Loan
70%
Expected EU contribution per project: €4.835.000
Thematic Categories
- Education and training
- Information and Communication Technologies
- Information Technology
- Justice - Security
- Research, Technological Development and Innovation
- Social Affairs & Human Rights
Eligibility for Participation
- Businesses
- Central Government
- Educational Institutions
- Legal Entities
- NGOs
- Non Profit Organisations
- Other Beneficiaries
- Researchers/Research Centers/Institutions
- Services Providers
- Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
- State-owned Enterprises
- Training Centres
Eligibility For Participation Notes
The following additional eligibility criteria apply:
This topic requires the active involvement, as beneficiaries, of at least 3 Police Authorities[[In the context of this Destination, ‘Police Authorities’ means public authorities explicitly designated by national law, or other entities legally mandated by the competent national authority, for the prevention, detection and/or investigation of terrorist offences or other criminal offences, specifically excluding police academies, forensic institutes, training facilities as well as border and customs authorities.]] and at least 2 Civil Society Organisations (or Non-Governmental Organisations) from at least 3 different EU Member States or Associated Countries. For these participants, applicants must fill in the table “Information about security practitioners” in the application form with all the requested information, following the template provided in the submission IT tool.
If projects use satellite-based earth observation, positioning, navigation and/or related timing data and services, beneficiaries must make use of Copernicus and/or Galileo/EGNOS (other data and services may additionally be used).
A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects.
Call Opening Date
Call Closing Date
National Contact Point(s)
Research and Innovation Foundation
29a Andrea Michalakopoulou, 1075 Nicosia,
P.B. 23422, 1683 Nicosia
Telephone: +357 22205000
Fax: +357 22205001
Email: support@research.org.cy
Website: https://www.research.org.cy/en/
Contact Person:
Christakis Theocharous
Scientific Officer A’
Telephone: +357 22 20 50 29
Email: ctheocharous@research.org.cy