CBSS supports five new projects to strengthen security and resilience

The Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) has selected five projects for funding under its 2026 Project Support Facility (PSF), a seed-funding programme that currently seeks to strengthen security and resilience across the Baltic Sea Region through cross-border cooperation.

This year’s call attracted significant interest, with 60 applications submitted from across the region. Following a competitive selection process, the CBSS Committee of Senior Officials approved five new projects for funding in 2026. The selected projects are:

• 3B Public Opinion Survey on Evacuation Measures (Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia). Led by the State Fire and Rescue Service of Latvia, the project will examine public attitudes towards evacuation in times of crisis. The findings will support evidence-based planning of national and cross-border evacuation measures and help authorities better prepare for large-scale emergencies.
• CPB-Nord: Crisis Preparedness Barometer – Nordic Extension (Latvia, Norway, Iceland). Led by the University of Latvia, this project will expand the Baltic Sea Region Individual Crisis Preparedness Barometer to Oslo and Reykjavík. By collecting comparable data on risk perceptions and preparedness, the project will support policy makers, civil protection authorities and researchers in strengthening societal resilience across the region.
• HybridMinds (Estonia, Poland, Lithuania). Led by Eesti Väitlusselts, this project will strengthen resilience against disinformation and hybrid threats by developing educational materials and training for students, teachers and schools. The initiative notably seeks to promote critical thinking, media literacy and civic engagement among young people across the Baltic Sea Region.
• Strengthening Safeguarding Responses to Harmful Sexual Behaviour and Developmental Trauma among Children in the Baltic Sea Region (Poland, Lithuania, Estonia). Led by the Lubuskie Voivodeship, the project will improve child protection systems through the transfer and adaptation of the AIM model for assessment and intervention. It aims to strengthen safeguarding practices, professional capacity and cross-sectoral cooperation while supporting more consistent responses to vulnerable children and families.
• VASAB Young Planners’ Summer School 2026: Navigate Planning Through Changes (Latvia, Poland, Estonia, Germany). Led by the VASAB Secretariat, the project will bring together young spatial planning professionals from across the region to develop solutions to emerging challenges such as climate change, infrastructure vulnerability and hybrid threats. Through mentoring and collaborative learning, participants will contribute new ideas for a more resilient Baltic Sea Region.

Funding will become official once the selected applicants have confirmed their participation.

Established by the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) in 2012, the Project Support Facility (PSF) provides grants of up to 65,000 teuros o projects involving partners from at least three CBSS Member States that strengthen cooperation and contribute to the CBSS long-term priorities, including the current focus on security and resilience in the Baltic Sea Region.