New toolkit to help mitigate foreign interference in research and innovation

The European Commission has published a toolkit on how to mitigate foreign interference in research and innovation. Foreign interference occurs when activities are carried out by, or on behalf of, a foreign state actor, which are coercive, covert, deceptive, or corrupting and are contrary to the sovereignty of the EU, its values and interests. The toolkit outlines best practices to support EU higher education institutions and research performing organisations in safeguarding their fundamental values, including their academic freedom, integrity and institutional autonomy, as well as to protect their staff, students, research findings and assets.

It includes a list of possible mitigation measures that can help research and innovation organisations to develop a comprehensive strategy, tailored to their needs, for tackling risks and challenges from abroad. These measures focus on four areas: values, governance, partnerships and cybersecurity. Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth Commissioner Mariya Gabriel said: “Together with the member states and research and innovation partners across Europe, we have developed a useful toolkit to help us protect our fundamental values, key research findings and intellectual assets. Raising awareness and implementing preventive measures is key to tackle threats of foreign intrusion that target critical vulnerabilities and extend across all research activities, scientific domains, research outputs, researchers and innovators.” 

The non-exhaustive list of possible mitigation measures published today suggests a comprehensive approach for research and innovation actors to counter foreign interference, from awareness-raising and prevention to effective response, recovery and building resilience against future threats. Feeding into the European Research Area Policy Agenda action on academic freedom, the Commission has co-created the toolkit together with the member states and research and innovation partners. More information is available here.

Share this article: