Engage2innovate – Enhancing security solution design, adoption and impact through effective engagement and social innovation

Project Information

E2i

Grant agreement ID: 101121353

DOI

10.3030/101121353

EC signature date 20 July 2023

Start date 1 August 2023

End date 31 March 2027

Funded under

• Civil Security for Society

Total cost

€ 1 286 125,00

EU contribution

€ 1 286 125,00

Coordinated by

GLOBAZ SA
Portugal

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - E2i (Engage2innovate – Enhancing security solution design, adoption and impact through effective engagement and social innovation)

Reporting period: 2024-10-01 to 2025-11-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Horizon Europe is the European Commission’s flagship research and innovation programme, aiming to create positive societal change. Within this, the Security Research Programme seeks to deliver solutions that enhance EU civil security capabilities. Despite significant investment, the uptake of innovations within this programme has often been limited. This is typically attributed to ‘user acceptance’ issues, implying fault lies with end-users and the public.E2i challenges this view, proposing that the issue is not user resistance, but a problem of ‘implementation,’ caused by shortcomings in the design and delivery of innovations themselves.
The Engage2innovate (E2i) project addresses these challenges by introducing a human-centred, design-led approach that focuses on problem framing, user engagement, and social innovation. E2i argues that successful security innovation must go beyond technical invention to embrace social, cultural, and human factors essential for real-world uptake. The project aims to improve security solution design and implementation by supporting more effective engagement with end-users, stakeholders, and citizens, incorporating principles of Responsible Research & Innovation (RRI).
E2i contributes to the goal of “more effective and efficient evidence-based development of EU civil security capabilities” by developing the E2i Security R&I Toolbox — a set of tools and practices that empower researchers and practitioners to frame security problems more accurately, design solutions that address user needs, and ensure innovations are sustainable and scalable. Social sciences and humanities (SSH) play a critical role in E2i, informing methodologies for stakeholder engagement, understanding behavioural and societal contexts, and ensuring that solutions are co-created with and for the communities they serve.
Through this approach, E2i aims to strengthen the impact of EU security research, leading to security solutions that are not only novel, but also practically implemented and socially accepted.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

During the first reporting period (01/08/2023 to 31/09/2024), the E2i project focused on foundational research, conceptual development, and stakeholder engagement activities to strengthen the impact of EU security research. The main technical and scientific achievements include:
1. Development of key concepts and common understanding: E2i created a glossary of terms and completed a comprehensive review of social innovation, Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI), and end-user engagement. This was complemented by collaborative workshops to establish a shared understanding among consortium members and stakeholders.
2. Mapping social innovation in security research: Research activities explored barriers to the uptake of EU security research, leading to insights from surveys, interviews, and focus groups. Two focus areas were investigated: security in public spaces and tackling radicalisation in local communities.
3. Conceptual model for social innovation: E2i developed a preliminary conceptual model of social innovation as an enabler of security solutions, co-created with policymakers, practitioners, and researchers during the E2i Symposium and DesignLab 1.
4. Development of the E2i Security R&I Toolbox: Initial research and co-creation activities began for the E2i Toolbox, which aims to support human-centred design and social innovation approaches for improved adoption and impact of security innovations.
Overall, the E2i project has laid a solid foundation for its objectives and has begun engaging the security community to collaboratively develop impactful security research outputs.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

E2i has developed a suite of Descriptors and Indicators to identify and evaluate social innovation projects within the security research and innovation context. This framework goes beyond the state of the art by providing a clear, practical tool for assessing whether projects exhibit the attributes typically associated with social innovation, such as inclusivity, iterative development, and cross-sector collaboration. This development addresses a critical gap: while social innovation is often cited as a solution to improving research impact, there has been a lack of operational guidance for understanding what constitutes a social innovation project in security research.
The E2i Descriptors and Indicators enable project teams, evaluators, and policymakers to systematically classify and measure social innovation attributes in security R&I projects. This provides a foundation for better project design, monitoring, and impact assessment, ensuring that initiatives align with the broader goals of creating societal value and achieving sustainable outcomes.
To ensure further uptake and success, this framework would benefit from real-world validation across diverse security projects, as well as the development of supporting guidelines for its integration into current R&I evaluation frameworks. Additionally, dissemination through workshops and training for both project coordinators and evaluators will be crucial for wider adoption.
The E2i project is developing a practical Social Innovation conceptual model that advances the state of the art by moving beyond abstract definitions of social innovation. The model integrates principles of Human-Centred Design (HCD) into a structured process framework, focusing on effective problem framing, stakeholder co-creation, and prototyping for real-world implementation. This approach directly addresses the key challenge identified in security research: the low uptake of project outputs by end-users, often due to poorly defined problems and a lack of practical testing.
Unlike traditional social innovation models, which often rely on aspirational language and lack a clear pathway for implementation, the E2i model provides a process-based approach that ensures societal needs are addressed in a measurable, context-specific way. This framework has potential impacts for improving project outcomes and achieving greater alignment between research outputs and end-user needs.
To ensure further uptake and success, the model will require real-world demonstration projects and validation with security practitioners across multiple contexts. Additionally, the development of supporting guidelines and best practices for embedding the model into existing R&I processes would be beneficial. Finally, sustained engagement with policymakers and end-users is necessary to promote wider adoption and scalability.

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