ICARUS

IcARUS

The IcARUS project (Innovative AppRoaches to Urban Security) is coordinated by Efus, with a consortium of 17 European partners, including universities and research institutions, local authorities as well as civil society and private sector organisations.

IcARUS aims to learn from past experiences in urban security policies and practices throughout Europe. The project’s main objective is to rethink, redesign and adapt existing tools and methods to help local security actors anticipate and better respond to security challenges.

Find out more in the project’s brochure here.

Sign up for IcARUS’ newsletter here.

Objectives

The project’s main objective is to rethink, redesign and adapt existing tools and methods to help local security actors anticipate and better respond to security challenges in the context of:

  • A decline in citizens’ trust in institutions, local elected officials and other security and prevention actors;
  • Drastic budgetary cuts and various contemporary crises that affect local and national authorities;
  • The development of smart cities, which implies the efficient inclusion of technological innovations in crime prevention.
Focus areas

IcARUS will focus on four areas that have been identified by local and regional authorities as enduring security challenges :

  1. Preventing juvenile delinquency;
  2. Preventing radicalisation leading to violent extremism;
  3. Designing and managing safe public spaces;
  4. Preventing and reducing trafficking and organised crime.

These will also be examined in the light of four cross-cutting issues of:

  • governance and diversification of actors,
  • technological change,
  • gender,
  • transnational & cross-border issues.
The IcARUS Methodology

The project will review and reassess past and present urban security policies to provide socially and technologically innovative strategies and tools adaptable to specific local contexts.

We will develop custom-made solutions to security challenges, which will incorporate social as well as technological innovations.

The tools will be designed through a constant process of defining, ideating, prototyping, testing, evaluating and adapting by local authorities. This process will ensure that they are effective and meet the collective needs of citizens.

Consultative Committee of Cities

A Consultative Committee of Cities and law enforcement agencies (LEA’s)  supports the implementation of the project. The Committee provides consortium partners with practitioner perspectives and feedback. The Committee thus supports the design and implementation of the tools developed in the project. It has a key role in strengthening multi-level governance and local partnerships. It is also expected to be a central channel of communication and dissemination of the toolkit and the overall results of the project.

A greater involvement of cities will allow more end users to benefit from the tools and methods developed in the context of the project, throughout its course.

  • City of Malmö (SE)
  • City of Mechelen (BE)
  • Region of Emilia-Romagna (IT)
  • City of Gdansk (PL)
  • Departament d’Interior – Generalitat Catalunya (ES)
Expert Advisory Board

Barbara Holtmann, Director, Fixed.Africa and non-executive President of the Board, Women in Cities International

Laetitia Wolff, Design Impact Consultant, Besign, The Sustainable Design School in Nice

Thierry Charlois, Night Policy Project Manager, Paris City Council

Tim Chapman, Chair of the board of the European Forum for Restorative Justice

Patrick Charlier, Director – Unia

Factsheets

Design Thinking Methodology in the context of the IcARUS Project -Factsheet #1

This factsheet is based on research conducted for the IcARUS reports “Methodology for the adoption of DT in urban security & crime prevention initiatives” (D1.1) and “Guidelines to the DT implementation in IcARUS task” (D1.2).

Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency: relevant international and national regulations – Factsheet #2

This factsheet is based on research conducted for the IcARUS report “Legal adjustment report of IcARUS to the relevant international and national regulations” (D6.1).

Using research to inform urban security strategies – Factsheet #3

This factsheet is based on research conducted by IcARUS for the public report “The Changing Face of Urban Security Research” (D2.1), and it further communicates how can research inform the urban security strategies.

Learning from the past: 30 years of crime prevention and urban security – Factsheet #4

This factsheet is based on research conducted by IcARUS for the public report “The Changing Face of Urban Security Research” (D2.1), and it further communicates how can research inform the urban security strategies.

Investing in Prevention Time to Embrace the Research Evidence – Factsheet #5

This factsheet is based on research conducted by IcARUS for the public report “The Changing Face of Urban Security Research” (D2.1), and it further communicates how can research inform the urban security strategies.

Spotlight on Preventing Radicalisation leading to Violent Extremism- Factsheet #6

This factsheet is based on research conducted by IcARUS for the public report D2.1 The Changing Face of Urban Security Research, and it further communicates the learnings related to prevention of radicalization leading to violent extremism.

Spotlight on Preventing and Reducing Trafficking and Organised Crime – Factsheet #7

This factsheet is based on research conducted by IcARUS for the public report D2.1 The Changing Face of Urban Security Research, and it further communicates the learnings related to prevention for reducing traffickind and organized crime, and improving Urban Security.

Spotlight on preventing Juvenile Delinquency – Factsheet #8

This factsheet is based on research conducted by IcARUS for the public report D2.1 The Changing Face of Urban Security Research, and it further communicates the learnings related to prevention of juvenile delinquency for improving Urban Security.

Spotlight on Designing and Managing Safe Public Spaces – Factsheet #9

This factsheet is based on research conducted by IcARUS for the public report D2.1 The Changing Face of Urban Security Research, and it further communicates the learnings related to designing and managing safe urban spaces for improving Urban Security.

IcARUS’ newsletter articles

May 2023

January 2023

July 2022

May 2022

November 2021

September 2021

May 2021

April 2021

February 2021

December 2020

Sign up for IcARUS’ newsletter and find all the previous newsletters here.

The role of Efus

Efus is the coordinator of the IcARUS project.

Consortium

Project Coordinator:
Efus

Local authorities:
City of Stuttgart (DE), City of Riga (LV), City of Rotterdam (NL), City of Nice (FR), City of Lisbon (PT), City of Turin (IT)

Universities and research partners:
Salzburg University of Applied Sciences (AT), Erasmus University of Rotterdam (NL), Panteion University (GR), University of Salford (UK), University of Leeds (UK), IDIAP Research Institute (CH), KEMEA (ES), University of York (UK)

Civil society and private sector organisations:
Plus Ethics (ES), Makesense (FR), Camino (DE)

Dissemination and Communication
LOBA (PT)

Duration

September 2020 – August 2024

Contacts

Pilar De La Torre, Programme Manager – delatorre@efus.eu

Marta Pellón Brussosa, Programme Manager –  PellonBrussosa@efus.eu

Anne Boisseau, Programme Manager – boisseau@efus.eu

Asma Kaouech, Programme Manager – kaouech@efus.eu

The project website
The project website

IcARUS on social media

The IcARUS project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement no. 882749


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