NATO Science for Peace and Security

NATO Science for Peace and Security (SPS) Programme
FieldScience and technology
PredecessorNATO Science Committee (SCOM); NATO Committee on the Challenges of Modern Society (CCMS)
Parent entityNATO Innovation, Hybrid and Cyber (IHC) Division
HeadquartersNATO Headquarters, Brussels, Belgium
Websitewww.nato.int/science

Science for Peace and Security (SPS) is a NATO programme supporting non-military cooperation focused on scientific research, technological innovation and knowledge exchange. The SPS Programme in its current form was established in 2006, building on over 60 years of scientific cooperation at NATO.[1][2]

SPS offers funding, expert advice and support to tailor-made and security-relevant activities that enable cooperation among scientists, researchers and government officials in NATO member states and NATO partner countries. A distinctive feature of the Programme is that every activity it funds requires the involvement of at least two entities, one in a NATO member state and one in an eligible NATO partner country, who must work together to address shared security challenges.

The Programme's funding opportunities are announced via calls for proposals posted on its website up to three times a year.[3] SPS supports four types of grants: research and development Multi-Year Projects, Advanced Research Workshops, Advanced Training Courses, and Advanced Study Institutes.[4]

Thematic focus

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The SPS Programme’s focus is set by a list of thematic priorities agreed by NATO members.[5] In April 2024, SPS announced the adoption of a revised list of thematic priorities to strengthen its alignment with NATO’s strategic outlook and partnership priorities.[6]

In line with its revised list of priorities, the SPS Programme supports activities that address at least one of the following thematic areas:

  • Environment, Climate Change and Security
  • Energy Security
  • Innovation and Emerging Disruptive Technologies (EDTs)
  • Counter-terrorism
  • Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) and Explosive Hazards Management
  • Defence against Hybrid Threats
  • Resilience
  • Critical Underwater Infrastructure
  • Cyber Defence
  • Assessing and addressing threats posed by the Russian Federation
  • Strategic Foresight
  • Human and Social Aspects of Security
  • Operational Support
  • Other proposals clearly linked to the implementation of NATO’s core tasks

Examples of SPS activities

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  • "Hybrid space and submarine architecture to Ensure the Information Security of Telecommunications (HEIST)" is a project launched in 2024 aimed at rerouting the internet to space in the event of subsea cable attacks.[7]
    Demonstration and testing of the DEXTER technology in a subway station in Rome, Italy in May 2022.
  • "DEXTER” was a project involving 11 laboratories in 8 countries in the development of an integrated and affordable sensor-fusion system able to detect explosives and firearms in public places, remotely and in real time.[8][9][10]
  • The project “Next-Generation Incident Command System (NICS)” developed and implemented a system to facilitate coordination among first responders across the Western Balkans during natural disasters and other incidents.[11][12][13]
  • The project “Demining Robots” brought together researchers from universities in Italy, Jordan, Ukraine and the United States of America, who demonstrated the feasibility of a safe landmine and Improvised Explosive Device (IED) detection system relying on a team of cooperative robotic vehicles, each carrying specialized sensors.[14][15]
  • The Summer School Marktoberdorf is an Advanced Study Institute focusing on computer science which received support from the SPS Programme on multiple occasions.[16]
  • Researchers in Belgium, Jordan, Morocco, and the United Kingdom collaborated on the project "Responding to Emerging Security Challenges in NATO's Southern Neighbourhood", which analysed the main geopolitical, socioeconomic and energy-related challenges in the area, developing three alternative future scenarios for the region out to 2030.[17]
  • South Caucasus River Monitoring—assess pollutants and radionuclides in the Kura and Araks rivers, shared by Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia.[18][19]
  • Preparation of handbooks on environmental aspects of military compounds (safe drinking water, waste management, energy supply).[18]
  • Virtual Silk Highway—satellite-based broadband technology for universities and civil research institutions in the South Caucasus and Central Asia.[20]
  • Safe conversion of mélange (a highly toxic rocket fuel oxidizer left from the Cold War era) in Central Asia.[21]

References

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  1. ^ "1958 - 2018: The Science for Peace and Security Programme celebrates its 60th anniversary". NATO. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  2. ^ Turchetti, Simone (2018-03-26). "Diplomacy by other means? NATO's science sixty years on…". NATO Review. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  3. ^ "SPS - How to apply?". NATO. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  4. ^ "SPS Grant Mechanisms". NATO. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  5. ^ "SPS - Key Priorities". NATO. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  6. ^ "NATO Allies agree on new Key Priorities for the Science for Peace and Security Programme". NATO. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  7. ^ "NATO Backs Effort to Save Internet by Rerouting to Space in Event of Subsea Attacks". Bloomberg.com. 2024-07-08. Retrieved 2024-07-21.
  8. ^ "NATO counter-terrorism project proves its viability in demonstration". Janes. 2022-05-26. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  9. ^ "NATO demonstrates new technology to counter terrorism in crowded venues". NATO. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  10. ^ "ONERA successfully tests an explosives and firearms detection system for NATO". European Defence Review. 2022-07-07. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  11. ^ "NATO Science presents: The Next-Generation Incident Command System". NATO. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  12. ^ "Southeastern European nations are latest to adopt emergency-response system". MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 2018-04-04. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  13. ^ "DHS & NATO Wrap Up Disaster Management Project with Final Exercise in North Macedonia". Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate. 2021-10-01. Retrieved 2024-08-21.
  14. ^ "NATO Humanitarian Demining Robot Tested at F&M". Franklin and Marshall College. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  15. ^ "NATO Science presents: The robot that goes first". NATO. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  16. ^ "MOD23: Summer School Marktoberdorf 2023". Technical University of Munich. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  17. ^ "Responding to Emerging Security Challenges in NATO's Southern Neighbourhood". Elcano Royal Institute. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  18. ^ a b [1]
  19. ^ South Caucasus River Monitoring Project: Water for Peace in a Volatile and Strategic Region
  20. ^ [2]
  21. ^ [3]
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