Franco-German ANR-BMBF Coordinated Call for Proposals on Future Security in Urban Areas

The French National Research  Agency (ANR) opens a Franco-German call for proposals on future security in urban areas within the framework of a collaboration with German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

In Germany as well as in France a high proportion of the population lives or works in cities or urban agglomerations. The broad range of recreational and cultural activities as well as a high density of infrastructures contributes to wealth and quality of life. However, the density of infrastructures and the constantly changing nature of cities and quarters also lead to new vulnerabilities for the population. Furthermore, cities are expected to be subject of major transformation in the long run that will require novel security solutions.

With this call for proposals the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the French National Research  Agency (ANR) aim at funding interdisciplinary research projects that enhance the security of today’s and future cities in Germany and France. By doing so, BMBF and ANR want to intensify the longstanding successful bilateral cooperation of Germany and France in the area of civil security research. With their bilateral cooperation on civil security research, Germany and France do not only want to strengthen future national security but also want to provide a contribution to the European security architecture

This call is opened exclusively to Franco-German collaborative projects. Funding is expected to lead to research solutions that help improving citizens’ civil security. Funding will be provided to collaborative projects that conduct research aiming at innovative solutions for improving the civil security in cities and urban agglomerations. Projects may address today’s security situations or forthcoming security concerns in the city of the future and have to create added value from the Franco-German cooperation. ANR will fund French teams and BMBF German teams.

Proposals shall follow an interdisciplinary approach to find solutions that helps improving global security. The projects must take into account technological and societal aspects that are relevant for the security solutions.

The themes of this call are:

• Security in changing city quarters
• Protection of the citizens in open accessible areas
• Securing mobility in urban areas
• Protection of citizens in the case of a breakdown of critical infrastructures in urban areas

A first partnering event is planned in Düsseldorf, February 16, 2016.

Eligibility criteria

All applicants must fulfil their country's national eligibility rules for research grant application.

• Scope: The scope of the proposal must fit in with the topics outlined above.
• The time range for collaborative projects will run for a period of up to three years.
• The French part of the consortium shall consist of at least one research institute (non-university or university) and one company. End users shall be integrated as part of the consortium or through an ad hoc supervisory board.
• The German part of the consortium shall consist of at least one research institute (non-university or university) and one company. End users shall be integrated as partners or, be associated (without funding).

Selection of proposals

The joint proposals received will be evaluated in both countries in accordance with the following criteria:

• Relevance to the subject of the call for proposals
• Scientific and technical quality, innovativeness and knowledge gain
• Quality of consortium, including involvement of end users and role of SMEs
• Methodology and quality of project construction
• Overall impact of the project, including scientific dissemination and economic exploitation
• Added value of the bilateral cooperation and expected benefit for both the French and the German side.

Projects will be evaluated separately on French and German side. On the basis of the national evaluations, suitable proposals will be selected for funding in a selection process coordinated between BMBF and ANR. The BMBF, the ANR and the project management organization reserve the right to consult independent experts when evaluating the project outlines received.