Project kick-off: BALTinnoSEC

There are numerous civil security themed forums and platforms in Europe, focussing on either specific aspects or a wide scope of civil security topics in Europe. But where to turn to in case of security threats in the Baltic Sea Region? Whom to face security challenges with? Challenges that each state cannot face alone: floods, forest fires, or heat waves caused by the climate change are common for all BSR countries. The need for such an interface that creates meaningful connections of civil security actors for problem solving has been voiced repeatedly in the recent years. 

The Pan-Baltic Cross-Sectoral Innovation in Societal Security project (BALTinnoSEC) led by the CBSS Secretariat, aims to answer this need. Funded by the Swedish Institute, BALTinnoSEC’s aim is to investigate the feasibility of an interface, connecting civil security actors in constellations, focused on tackling risks, specific to BSR. The interface is envisioned as a problem-solving platform or forum for regular off- & online meetings of practitioners, researchers and businesses, thus sharing access to the latest management solutions and technologies, cutting costs and time for all involved. Partners will analyse existing forums & platforms (civil security events & projects) and the market of solution providers. Based on the analysis a concept of the platform will be elaborated and tested in a pilot forum (planned to be held in late autumn 2022), consisting of small-size risk-specific hackathons and workshops. Lessons learned and the resulting blueprint for a full-size BSR civil security solution-oriented forum will be used to seek EU funds for a larger project. 

On 24 February 2022, the project partners held the project’s kick-off meeting at the CBSS Secretariat in Stockholm. The main result of the discussions was a list of criteria for a successful pilot forum. 

The partners also agreed that at the moment the topic of crisis communication is the most fitting to the needs of the region and the format of the pilot forum. 

Next step in the project is a workshop in the beginning of June. During this workshop the partners will analyse the two reports, which will be produced in the project: about existing projects and initiatives on the topic of crisis communication and market overview of the existing solutions in the field. Click here to learn more about BALTinnoSEC.