Bilateral cooperation in civil security research
It is a well-known fact that natural disasters, terrorism, organised crime and major accidents are ignorant of national borders. So it is only logical that we should seek possibilities at the European and international level for sharing ideas about how public security can be guaranteed, rather than debating the subject in the national arena only. In this respect, Austria, France, India, Israel and the US are key partners. Germany’s cooperation with other countries is about harnessing the various potential synergies to shape research and innovation so as to improve security for the public and grasp the opportunities presented by international markets.
Cooperation between Germany and France
In 2009, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR) signed an agreement on cooperation in the field of civil security research, with the aim of pooling efforts and intensifying research activities. The agreement set out to open up the two countries' security research programmes to each other. By collaborating in this way and taking a more international approach to security research in general, France and Germany are seeking to strengthen peoples security with innovative solutions.
Through four calls for proposals, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the ANR have so far advanced 17 joint projects to the funding stage. The projects address a wide range of civil security issues, including securing supply chains, protection of critical infrastructures, protection against hazardous substances and protection and rescue of people. Four bilateral projects on the future of civil security in urban areas were launched in the autumn of 2017. To date, Germany has provided around 28 million euros in funding (through the Federal Ministry of Education and Research) for the bilateral projects.
Franco-German research projects
Cooperation between Germany and India
Germany and India’s joint education and research activities go back more than 60 years. It was this long relationship that prompted Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and India‘s Department of Science and Technology (DST) to grant funding for research conducted jointly by the two countries.
At the second Indo-German intergovernmental consultations in Berlin on 11 April 2013, Federal Minister Johanna Wanka (BMBF) and her Indian counterpart, Jaipal Reddy (DST), signed a joint declaration of intent to cooperate in civil security research (PDF-file). The aim is to raise the level of civil security for citizens in the two countries by developing innovative solutions. The cooperation will primarily deal with crisis management in natural disasters, protection and rescuing of human beings, urban security and protection against the spread of infectious diseases.
Cooperation between Germany and Israel
Israel and Germany have been conducting research together for 50 years, in a solid collaboration that has significantly benefited the two countries’ understanding of each other. Working with a partner such as Israel can be an important source of inspiration, especially when it comes to security research and Israel’s long experience of handling public security risks.
The bilateral cooperation programmes supply funding for projects that involve research and industry partners from both countries and, in the area of civil security research, end users such as the fire brigade, police force, disaster management organisations and critical infrastructure operators.
German-Israeli research projects
Cooperation between Germany and Austria
In April 2013, Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and Austria’s Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology (BMVIT) signed a civil security research agreement. Its aim is to open up the BMBF’s call for proposals for projects in the “Civil security – Protection against organised crime” area to Austrian partners and the BMVIT’s “KIRAS security research – Autumn 2013/14” call for proposals to German partners. By cooperating in this manner and taking an international approach to civil security research, Austria and Germany are seeking to increase security both in their own countries and in Europe as a whole.
The German-Austrian programme grants funding for projects that involve industry and research partners (including partners from the humanities, social sciences and cultural sciences) plus end users from both countries. The German partners submit their applications in Germany, the Austrian partners in Austria. The objective is to prevent and reduce the systematic perpetration of criminal offences in the area of organised crime, which are of major significance individually or as a whole, in both countries. If both sides’ assessment of the application is positive, the project partners receive funding concurrently through the respective programme.
Austrian-German research projects
Cooperation between Germany and the United States of America
The intergovernmental agreement (PDF, , File does not meet accessibility standards) between the Federal Republic of Germany and the United States of America on cooperation in the field of civil security research, submitted by Federal Research Minister Annette Schavan, was approved by the Federal Cabinet on 11 February 2009. It was signed by Minister Schavan and US Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, on 16 March of the same year.
The agreement paves the way for cooperation with the US in the important field of civil security research. The aim of this joint research is to draw on shared strengths in research and technology to develop innovative civil security solutions in compliance with today’s and tomorrow’s standards.
Information on the German-US VASA project can be found here (only available in German).