A methodology for tracking and analysing the needs for standardization and certification harmonization thorough the project life cycle will be defined and enforced, which will allow the early identification of issues related to the conceptualization, design, implementation, integration and deployment of tools for support the EU disaster resiliency; which will be facilitated by a complete consultation strategy to the different stakeholders that are expected to act at each capability development phase, ranging from providers to end users. On these grounds H2020-VALKYRIES will develop, integrate and demonstrate capabilities for enabling immediate and coordinated emergency response including search and rescue, security and health, in scenarios of natural/provoked catastrophes with multiple victims, with special application in cases in which several regions or countries are affected and hence greater interoperability being required. H2020-VALKYRIES will propose both design and development of a modular, interoperable, scalable and secure platform, which will allow the integration between legacy solutions and new technologies. The platform will be able to deploy services and dynamically adapt its behaviour, as the emergency requires it. A series of use cases and demonstrators will be developed placing an emphasis on cross-frontier and cross-sectorial BLOS (Beyond Line of Sight) scenarios, where the usual communications infrastructure could have been damaged, and emergency response teams are deployed without an accurate view of the operation environment

TARGET will deliver a pan-European serious gaming platform featuring new tools, techniques and content for training and assessing skills and competencies of SCA (Security Critical Agents - counterterrorism units, border guards, first responders (police, firefighters, ambulance services civil security agencies, critical infrastructure operators). Mixed-reality experiences will immerse trainees at task, tactical and strategic command levels with scenarios such as tactical firearms events, asset protection, mass demonstrations, cyber-attacks and CBRN incidents. Trainees will use real / training weaponry, radio equipment, command & control software, decision support tools, real command centres, vehicles. Social and ethical content will be pervasive. Unavailable real-source information will be substituted by AVR (Augmented / Virtual Reality - multimedia, synthetic role players). Near-real, all-encompassing and non-linear experiences will enable high degrees of dynamics and variability. The distributed Open TARGET Platform will provide extensible standards driven methods to integrate simulation techniques and AVR technology with existing SCA training equipment and be customisable to local languages, national legal contexts, organisational structures, established standard operational procedures and legacy IT systems. At key training points real-time benchmarking of individuals and teams will be instrumented. TARGET will support inter-agency SCA exercising across the EU and act as a serious gaming repository and brokerage facility for authorised agencies to share training material and maximise reuse and efficiency in delivering complex exercises. TARGET, combining training, content and technology expertise, will be co-led by users and technologists, mainly SMEs. 2 successively developed and trialled versions of the TARGET Solution will support user-technologist dialogue. The TARGET Ecosystem will enable sustainable impact, commercial uptake and synergies at EU level.

The SHIELD PCP initiative aims to drive innovation by empowering buyers to actively influence the development of cost-effective solutions tailored to their unique requirements. The overarching aim is to equip security stakeholders with cutting-edge technology procured through innovative processes, offering solutions that enable seamless coordination and cooperation among all stakeholders, especially law enforcement agencies (LEAs). Building on the achievements of its predecessor, SHIEL4CROWD, the SHIELD PCP project adopts a top-down approach. This method consolidates widely agreed-upon scenarios to address critical security challenges, providing a detailed identification of innovation needs at both the process and technology levels. This top-down approach enabled the alignment of stakeholders, from security forces to public authorities, ensuring innovative solutions meet shared needs for public space protection. SHIELD4CROWD also developed a roadmap of innovations addressing operational and technical challenges while considering regulatory and economic factors. SHIELD PCP continues this work to enhance collaboration and improve public space security. The project follows a phased Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP) process, which includes: Preparatory Phase: Finalizing the tendering documentation developed during SHIEL4CROWD; Phase 1: Solution Design ;Phase 2: Prototype Development; and Phase 3: Operational Validation, conducted across three pilot sites in France, Spain, and Slovakia. A consortium of 10 partners from 6 EU countries, including 3 Ministries of Interior and 1 public transport operators as Public Buyers and 1 end-user, is collaborating on this project. Many other end-users will also be involved through the User Observatory Group (UOG).

NOTIONES is a Latin lemma meaning “notions, ideas, investigations, cognisance” and therefore refers to “being informed”. The Call requires (a) to build a network of practitioners from security and intelligence services of EU MS & AC that has the objective (b) to support the needs of the security and intelligence services of the MS & AC for future security research programming. To address these requirements, NOTIONES consortium includes: (a) 15 practitioners from military, civil, financial, judiciary, local, national and international polices, coming from 9 EU MS and 6 AC. These practitioners, together with the other consortium members, grant a complete coverage of the 4 EU main areas: West Europe (PT, ES, UK, FR, IT, DE, AT), North Europe (FI, DK, SE, EE, LV), Middle Europe (PO, SK, UK), Middle East (IL, TR, GE, BG, BA, MK) for a total of 21 countries; (b) experts in security research programming. The NOTIONES’ S&T Coordinator is one of the 50 members of ESRAB and of the 64 members of ESRIF, the two Committees charged by the EC to outline its funding policy related to security research programming. In addition to that, the NOTIONES’ consortium includes 5 partners of PYTHIA and SOLOMON (Z&P, EXPSYS, ICSA, BDI, LESO), the two projects outlining the EDA/EC future defence research programming. The monitoring of technologies and the definition of requirements and recommendations for their industrialization will provide a great advantage to practitioners in the fields of intelligence and security. Through an iterative cycle, the output recommendations will be synthesized into specifications that can be provided to industry and academy across Europe, providing tangible benefits to those organisations engaged in intelligence and security. The results of the NOTIONES project, which has a lifetime of five years, will be presented to the broad intelligence community in workshops and conferences and will contribute to the definition of further security and intelligence research

The iProcureNet project aims to build an EU network of organisations centred on the procurement of security solutions through the appointed iProcureNet National Contacts (IPNCs), together with a larger community of people composed of individuals and experts interested in procurement. Via the established Network+Community, iProcureNet will facilitate collaboration and dialogue among procurers, enabling: i) coordinated sharing and analysis of procurement trends included in the investment plans, ii) development of common and standardised practices from the technical, legal and financial perspectives, and iii) establishing pathways for joint procurement (JP) of innovative and new to market solutions, research services, and commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products in the field of security. iProcureNet will develop the iProcureNet Toolbox including a comprehensive methodology, guidelines and a knowledge database of current procurement practices and processes in Europe; and will create a firm foundation for the set-up of Established Buyers Groups (EBGs) – countries which, using the iProcureNet Toolbox, have found common ground and are ready to procure. Close collaboration with related PCP and PPI actions and the practitioner innovation networks will be a key component of the project. Ultimately, iProcureNet, will aim to create a stepping stone to future collaboration in the form of a future investment plan for collaborative procurement actions, and to develop detailed pro-innovation procurement strategies. The Network+Community will be supported by i) the iProcureNet Online Platform (IPOP) enabling professional social networking and online dialogue on good practices and procurers’ needs; ii) a sustainable organisational set-up composed of well organised bodies and processes, and iii) appropriate communication and dissemination activities including Annual Conferences, trainings and workshops. The consortium includes 15 partners, out of which 10 are procurement agencies.