Deadline: 23-Nov-22
The European Commission (EC) has announced a call for proposals for Improved international cooperation addressing first responder capability gaps.
In order to perform their dangerous tasks, First Responders require the best possible equipment that is tailor-made for extreme scenarios. As such, tools and gear need to be highly specialised and adapted to the different specific first responder needs. The market for such equipment is however fragmented, limiting the availability and affordability.
International cooperation to define common requirements has helped to create a clearer picture on what gaps remain and cannot be satisfied by existing solutions, thus requiring targeted research. Global capability gaps have been identified by international expert groups such as the UNDRR Scientific and Technical Advisory Group and the International Forum to Advance First Responder Innovation (IFAFRI), involving scientific experts, firefighters, medical responders and police officers from several EU and non-EU countries.
Proposals under this topic are invited to address one or several of the following capability gaps that were identified by national first responders within IFAFRI:
- The ability to know the location of responders and their proximity to risks and hazard in real time
- The ability to detect, monitor, and analyse passive and active threats and hazards at incident scenes in real time
- The ability to monitor the physiological signs of emergency responders
- The ability to incorporate information from multiple and non-traditional sources into incident command operations
- The ability to create actionable intelligence based on data and information from multiple sources
Funding Information
The check will normally be done for the coordinator if the requested grant amount is equal to or greater than EUR 500 000, except for:
- public bodies (entities established as a public body under national law, including local, regional or national authorities) or international organisations; and
- cases where the individual requested grant amount is not more than EUR 60 000 (lowvalue grant).
Expected Outcomes
Projects’ results are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
- Improved real-time detection, tracking and analysis of different situations, incidents and risks (including the location and well-being of first responders)
- More targeted actionable intelligence and more efficient command operations due to the fast analysis of different information sources
- Enhanced European and global interoperability for different types of first responders (e.g. firefighters, medical responders, police, civil protection)
- Availability of first responder solutions that are oriented on internationally defined requirements and recognised practices, and thus can be used with different national systems and equipment
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for funding, applicants must be established in one of the eligible countries, i.e.:
- the Member States of the European Union, including their outermost regions;
- the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) linked to the Member States;
-
eligible non-EU countries:
- countries associated to Horizon Europe;
- low- and middle-income countries.
For more information, visit European Commission.
For more information, visit https://bit.ly/3QVRKQn