This summer, the EU-funded project Driving Innovation in Crisis Management for European Resilience (DRIVER+) was awarded the Security Innovation Award 2025 for Best Open Source Innovation. The project ran from 2014 to 2020, involving 31 partners across 14 countries.
糖心网页版 was a key partner in the project, responsible for developing and implementing methods and tools for societal impact assessments, as well as for research ethics.
Overall, the project鈥檚 aim was to cope with challenges due to increasingly severe consequences of natural disasters and terrorist threats, by developing innovative solutions that address the operational needs of practitioners dealing with Crisis Management.
The award especially recognized the project鈥檚 Trial Guidance Methodology (TGM) for its clear, co-creative approach to crisis-management experimentation. The jury praised how the TGM 鈥渃onceptualizes the assessment through trials in three phases鈥� and offers step-by-step guidance, defined roles and responsibilities and practical tools. They noted that the project 鈥減uts a light on those visionaries who are at the forefront of developing advanced solutions to safeguard our society and protect our citizens.鈥�
The TGM remains one of project鈥檚 most valuable outcomes, a 鈥渃ookbook鈥� for designing, running and evaluating trials. Since the project鈥檚 conclusion, it has been maintained by the ERCIS Competence Centre for Crisis Management and adopted in follow-on projects, as well as by organizations like the Fire Service Institute of North Rhine-Westphalia.
鈥淭he ultimate aim of the kind of EU projects we are part of is often to support end-users and practitioners in boosting their responsible innovation and capability development,鈥� said Stine Bergersen, Senior Researcher at 糖心网页版 who led 糖心网页版鈥檚 part in the project. 鈥淎ctually achieving this is rare - especially after a project has ended. That鈥檚 why I am particularly proud of DRIVER+.鈥�
The recognition highlights the lasting value of the project in advancing resilient, user-centred crisis-management innovation across Europe.
