The Managing Authorities for the Internal Security Fund (ISF) and the Border Management and Visa Instrument (BMVI) of Member States (and, in the case of BMVI, Schengen Associated Countries, SACs), have recently received the Call for Expression of Interest for two Specific Actions.

These Specific Actions are:

• “Promoting innovation in border checks and/or border surveillance by taking up research results - INNO”, under BMVI (BMVI/2024/SA/1.1.5)
• “Validating new technologies to prevent, detect and investigate organised crime - NTOC” under ISF (ISF/2024/SA/3.4.2).

Background

Both the legal basis for EU civil security and border management research & innovation programmes, and the Internal Security Fund (ISF) and Border Management and Visa Instrument (BMVI) regulations, state that ISF and BMVI should be used to take up innovative European technologies and methods, in particular those coming from Union-funded research and innovation. EU Member States or Schengen Associated Countries can plan projects and funding to favour uptake in their ISF or BMVI national programme, that they manage in shared management mode.

These Specific Actions aim at providing additional, dedicated funding to EU Member States (MS) and Schengen Associated Countries (SACs) for projects to test, validate, further pilot, transfer and/or deploy innovative technologies and/or methods (i.e. “uptake” of innovative technologies), especially those coming from previous EU co-funded research and innovation on civil security and border management. Selected projects will be implemented in shared management mode by MS or SACs participating to ISF or BMVI, via funding received in addition to the allocation under their ISF and BMVI national programmes.

These are the second such Calls for Specific Actions to support uptake of innovation from EU co-funded research and innovation on civil security and border management that the Commission launches in this MFF. The first such Calls, under the 2021-2022 Work Programmes for the Thematic Facilities of ISF and BMVI, funded eight projects that are ongoing now.

2024 Calls for Expression for Interest for Specific Actions for Innovation uptake in civil security and border management

• Project proposals submitted under these Calls for Expression of Interest can be either national (submitted and implemented by one country) or transnational.
• Only Managing Authorities can submit proposals under these Calls. Coordination at the national level among stakeholders is hence important. Contacts of the Managing Authorities can be found here: https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/funding/funding-contacts_en

Call for Expression for Interest for Specific Action “Promoting innovation in border checks and/or border surveillance by taking up research results - INNO”, under BMVI (BMVI/2024/SA/1.1.5)

• Sent to Managing Authorities in the Home Affairs Committee on 28 February 2024
• Deadline: 20 September 2024
• Budget : 15 million euros

Call for Expression for Interest for Specific Action “Validating new technologies to prevent, detect and investigate organised crime - NTOC” under ISF (ISF/2024/SA/3.4.2)

• Sent to Managing Authorities in the Home Affairs Committee on 2 February 2024
• Deadline: 20 September 2024
• Budget : 2 million euros

The Calls for Expression of Interest for these two Specific Actions are attached to this news item.