Enhancing The Security Of Citizens Against Terrorism And Lone-actor Violence In Confined Spaces Such As Schools

Project results are expected to contribute to some or all of the following expected outcomes:

• Increased understanding of policymakers and relevant security practitioners of the phenomenon of terrorism and lone-actor violence towards citizens in confined places such as schools, in the European context;
• Terrorist and lone-actor attacks to citizens in confined places such as schools, are prevented in Europe by, e.g., detecting and tackling early signs of isolation and radicalisation, as well as the promotion of a secure and inclusive environment;
• European schools and other confined places, e.g., places of worship, public administration or other buildings accessible to the public, are provided with state-of-the-art means of ensuring their security;
• Cooperation between Police Authorities in Europe and relevant staff (in schools, public administration, etc.) is improved.

Citizens in European schools and other confined spaces (e.g., places of worship, public administration and other buildings accessible to the public) increasingly face various forms of terrorism and lone-actor violence. This topic aims at providing such places with solutions for ensuring civil security (of pupils, school staff, administrative workers, citizens at large) via exploring various societal and technological means of preventing such threats, with full respect of fundamental rights, such as rights to privacy and the protection of personal data. Based on a thorough analysis of the phenomenon under consideration in the European context, proposals should look into methodologies of catching and tackling early signs of terrorist threats, isolation and radicalisation, taking into account the social and cultural factors that may influence an individual's vulnerability to radicalisation, such as gender roles and stereotypes. Proposals should also consider how these factors may impact the effectiveness of prevention programmes and of addressing them by, e.g., creating appropriate programmes, including by modernising approaches for prevention of terrorist and lone actor attacks. Means for raising awareness (possibly training) of the relevant staff (school staff, employees in public administration, etc., in function of the building under consideration) regarding existing risks and for keeping them up to date on security matters should be tackled and designed to be inclusive and effective for diverse groups. Ways of improving cooperation between the relevant staff and Police Authorities in this context should be analysed too. Proposed solutions should be affordable to public schools and other structures accessible to the public that are usually more limited in funding. Proposals are invited from consortia involving Police Authorities and other relevant security practitioners, Civil Society Organisations, Non-Governmental Organisations, and the appropriate balance of IT specialists, psychologists, sociologists, etc. To ensure the active involvement of and timely feedback from relevant security practitioners, proposals should plan a mid-term deliverable consisting in the assessment of the project’s mid-term outcomes, performed by the practitioners involved in the project. Activities proposed within this topic should address the issue from various angles, combining both social research with technological development and applications in a logical manner.

Therefore, this topic requires the effective contribution of SSH disciplines and the involvement of SSH experts, institutions as well as the inclusion of relevant SSH expertise, in order to produce meaningful and significant effects enhancing the societal impact of the related research activities.

Proposals should outline the plans to develop possible future uptake and upscaling at national and EU level for possible next steps once the project is finalised. Proposals should also consider, build on outcomes developed by EU-funded projects, such as the ones under HORIZON-CL3-2024-FCT-01-04 and HORIZON-CL2-2025-01-DEMOCRACY-05, and not duplicate previous research. If the proposals concern drug-related issues, they are expected to engage with the EU Drugs Agency during the lifetime of the project, including validating the outcomes. Coordination among the successful proposals from this topic should be envisaged to avoid duplication and to exploit complementarities as well as opportunities for increased impact. Finally, proposals are expected to address all applicable considerations expressed in the Introduction of the Fighting Crime and Terrorism Destination.