Research and policy meet at the annual Project to Policy Seminar

From 30 June to 1 July 2022, DG HOME, the Research Executive Agency (REA), and DG CNECT co-organised the third Project to Policy Seminar for security research. Policy makers and project organisers shared knowledge to bring forth new trends and innovation in EU security policy.

This was the first in-person Projects to Policy Seminar since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. EU policy makers from various Commission Directorates General and EU agencies met with organisers of projects currently funded by the EU in the area of civil security. The presented projects covered a wide array of topics from border surveillance (Silent Border), artificial intelligence (Starlight) to online criminal detection (UNCOVER).

By exchanging views, participants ensured research results of the presented projects will contribute to the future design and implementation of EU security policies. At the same time, policy makers interacted with project coordinators to present latest developments in EU’s security policy.                 

Two days of breakout sessions, networking and diving into Horizon project tools

The event kicked off with breakout sessions devoted to each thematic area of the Horizon 2020 Security Research cluster:

• Borders and External Security
• Digital Security
• Disaster Resilient Societies
• Infrastructure
• Fight against Crime and Terrorism
• Artificial Intelligence and General Matters

In between breakout sessions, seminar participants used the time for networking to connect with colleagues also from other thematic areas. On the second day, the event continued with breakout sessions in the morning followed by plenary sessions on communication, dissemination, and how to make best use of project research results by using the Horizon Results Platform and the Horizon Booster Service tools.

Next steps

More than 130 participants from all over Europe attended the Project to Policy Seminar. Project staff and policy officers continue to build strong relationships, while DG HOME and REA facilitate the exchange between Commission services and the projects involved. The Community of European Research and Innovation for Security (CERIS), a platform launched by DG HOME to enhance interactions between practitioners, academia, policy makers and industry, will also support these actions further.

For more information contact: HOME-CERISec [dot] europa [dot] eu (HOME-CERIS[at]ec[dot]europa[dot]eu)