Covert evidence gathering has not seen major changes in decades. Law enforcement Agencies (LEAs) are still using conventional, manpower based techniques to gather forensic evidence. Concealed surveillance devices can provide irrefutable evidences, but current video surveillance systems are usually bulky and complicated, are often used as simple video recorders, and require complex, expensive infrastructure to supply power, bandwidth, storage and illumination. Recent years have seen significant advances in the surveillance industry, but these were rarely targeted to forensic applications. The imaging community is fixated on cameras for mobile phones, where the figures of merit are resolution, image quality, and low profile. A mobile phone with its camera on would consume its battery in under two hours. Industrial surveillance cameras are even more power hungry, while intelligent algorithms such as face detection often require extremely high processing power, such as backend server farms, and are not available in conventional surveillance systems. Here we propose to develop and validate a novel, ultra-low-power, intelligent, miniaturised, low-cost, wireless, autonomous sensor (“FORENSOR”) for evidence gathering. Its ultra-sensitive camera and built-in intelligence will allow it to operate at remote locations, automatically identify pre-defined criminal events, and alert LEAs in real time while providing and storing the relevant video, location and timing evidence. FORENSOR will be able to operate for up to two months with no additional infrastructure. It will be manageable remotely, preserve the availability and the integrity of the collected evidence, and comply with all legal and ethical standards, in particular those related to privacy and personal data protection. The combination of built-in intelligence with ultra-low power consumption could help LEAs take the next step in fighting severe crimes.

The frontrunner cities of Manchester (UK), Valencia (Spain), Wroclaw (Poland) and Wuhan (China) and the Fellow cities Brest(France), Zadar (Croatia) and Modena (Italy) are currently inhabited by 12.7 million people and sit at the heart of wider metropolitan areas which are home to 17.8 million people. All cities already experience flooding and heat stress, with projections for these issues to increase due to climate change and ongoing development. Working in complex, resource-constrained urban environments, the municipalities for each city have committed to delivering joined-up, cost-effective, smart solutions to address these and other urban challenges. They recognise that the cities of the future will need to achieve more with less resources and deliver genuine sustainable development that realises a broad range of social, economic and environmental objectives. Each city believes that nature-based solutions (NBS) are a critical part of this approach. GROW GREEN brings the partner cities together on the basis of these similarities but also their differences. Across the 6 European and 1 Chinese City they represent the range of different cities that are found across the world, and the different climate risks that they face. The cities will demonstrate a replicable approach for the development and implementation of city NBS strategies. The outcome will be more than simply demonstrating a methodology that works in the partner cities. GROW GREEN will provide the platform for a step change in the way that NBS are embedded in the long-term planning, development, operation and management of cities around the world. The project outputs will be promoted directly to 4-5 replication cities in Latin America, Africa and India to encourage them to develop and implement NBS strategies and to 146 Chinese ‘Sponge Cities’. These channels have been designed to create global demand for NBS and to promote European NBS products and services to meet this demand.

Across Europe society is changing due to demographic, technological and economic developments. Communities are getting more diverse, both in real life and online. This challenges Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) to engage with, and to reassure, communities about safety and security matters in a trustful way. The changing status quo is significantly shaping perceptions of policing, requiring adaptive strategies. To address these challenges, the KOBAN project will create an innovative, research and practice-based Community Policing (CP) initiative, adopting an evidenced based approach.It will focus on co-creation and collaborative security between LEA and non-LEA community members, leading to mutual trust and respecting each other’s contributions. This results in a greater sense of security, whilst contributing to an overall increase in the efficiency and effectiveness of securing all communities including those who are often considered hard to reach and engage. KOBAN’S Capability Model will identify proven methodologies, models, technologies, tools and best practices, and use them as a foundation for future proactive, co-active and reactive CP capabilities. This knowledge will help to build the AI Assistant as well as the App Factory for the development of further CP tools, methods and solutions tailored to the needs of stakeholders and adhering to social, legal, cultural, ethical and gender equality standards. These will be tested and validated in six pilot projects throughout Europe. KOBAN will support capacity building, embedding knowledge, skills and capabilities within organisations and communities leading to bespoke training for both police personnel, municipalities and citizens. In short, KOBAN will lead a cultural and organisational transformation that address current fundamental barriers to effective community policing. With its Capability Driven Approach, KOBAN is setting the stage for future-proof community policing, both online and in the real world.

The overall goal of ROCSAFE is to fundamentally change how CBRNe events are assessed, in order to and ensure the safety of crime scene investigators by reducing the need for them to enter high-risk scenes when they have to determine the nature of threats and gather forensics. For this, ROCSAFE will make use of cost-effective modern remotely-controlled robotic air and ground vehicles (RAVs/RGVs) that are designed for use in rain, wind, and challenging ground surfaces and obstacles. First, RAVs will assess the scene. These will have cameras and can carry an array of innovative new high-performance and rugged miniaturised sensor systems for RN, chemical and biological threats. To reduce the scene commander’s cognitive load, ROCSAFE will include new Central Decision Management software and a Command Centre. All images and data will be streamed to this, where it will be analysed and displayed on a sophisticated and intuitive interface with maps and video, showing results of analytics and giving readings geographical context. This will enable the scene commander to assess the nature of threats, develop an Action Plan and an Evidence Plan, supported as needed by the Central Decision Management. It will also assist in coordinating sensors and mobile units. Its data analytics will provide fusion of multiple sensor data sources, to allow probabilistic reasoning about the most likely threats and likely locations of epicentres. After the scene is assessed, RGVs will be dispatched to collect forensic material/evidence, with automatically-optimised routes to avoid hazards. They will have innovative new equipment for forensics collection that will automate best practices. Forensic material will be collected, bagged, tagged, documented, and stored by the RGV. Thus, ROCSAFE will ensure that CBRNe scenes are assessed more rapidly and thoroughly than is currently possible, and that forensic evidence is collected in a manner that stands up in court, without putting personnel at risk.

By 2050, European cities should be decarbonised, sustainable and provide for a high quality of life. In order to achieve this goal, society as a whole has to become more accountable and mutual responsibility needs to be distributed amongst all actors. Therefore, urban governance schemes need to become more transparent and inclusive so that all can benefit. This is why public administrations need to be equipped with skills and support schemes. Local transition roadmaps draw on the required skills and capacities of local authorities and allow them to become leaders of the energy transition. Such roadmaps provide explicit strategies and operational tools for local governments to address the multiple challenges of the energy transition and their ecological, economic, and social aspects. Thereby, their development provides both, space for innovations to develop, and participatory approaches to flourish. TOMORROW aims at empowering local authorities to lead the transition towards low-carbon, resilient and more liveable cities by engaging citizens and stakeholders in the development of 2050 transition roadmaps. The development process of local transition roadmaps lies at the core of TOMORROW, which recognizes that the achievability of the formulated energy transition targets relies upon effective engagement of civil society, local key actors and their collaboration with local governments. For implementing deliberative governance schemes, the project´s pilot cities will be involved in city trainings and benefit from peer-to-peer activities with lighthouse cities. Best practices and innovative sustainable energy solutions, as well as innovative engagement mechanisms will be shared. Tailored support material, such as a toolbox containing methodological guidelines and factsheets on best practices will be developed for replication. Learning relays and masterclasses will improve participants´ capacities. Policy recommendations aim at an enabling framework for cities´ transition.