French-German call for proposals on preparedness and rapid response to biological threats

At the 6th Forum for Franco-German Research Cooperation the two ministers signed a declaration of common intention on 19 June 2018. It includes four objectives, one of them being financing of research for the overall security of citizens.

The French National Research Agency (ANR) and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) of the Federal Republic of Germany share the common understanding that the Franco-German cooperation in research on Civil Security/ Global Security is an important driving force of activities on the national level of both countries as well as in Europe. Accordingly, joint research has been encouraged and supported by the respective governments in France and in Germany, which has proven very successful since the inception of the cooperation in 2009. A contribution  for  the Franco-German Forum written by a High Level Group of French and German experts, which were appointed by their respective ministries, proposed ideas to enhance the future of the cooperation by identifying challenging research topics in the area of GS/CS.

Thus, the National Research Agency (ANR) and the General Secretariat for Defense and National Security (SGDSN) co-finance collaborative research projects focused on the aim to provide innovative solutions. For reinforcing prevention, preparedness, detection, response and recovery against biological threats, be they of natural or intentional origin, several priority research themes are recommended. Projects may address current or expected security concerns and have to create substantial added value to Franco-German civil security/global security research.

Specific risks can result from:

• natural phenomena and technical disasters (e.g. disease propagation after flooding),
• epidemic or pandemic outbreaks, especially in cases of emerging diseases, and
• intentional malicious release of biological agents (e.g. for the purpose of committing criminal/terrorist acts).