The Centres of Excellence on Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN CoE) risk mitigation is a European Union Initiative that is being implemented jointly by the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) and the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre. The main aim of the Initiative is to facilitate regional cooperation to enhance CBRN policies and capabilities.
The Initiative has issued a Call for Proposals to seek competent national or international not-for-profit partner organizations for the implementation of projects within the framework of the CBRN Centres of Excellence Initiative. Projects are planned for specific geographic areas and include (with estimated program costs):
Identification and Strengthening of Forensic Capabilities in prevention of organized crime and trafficking of chemical agents (Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Hercegovina) € 640,000
Building capacity to identify and respond to threats from CBRN substances (Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Macedonia) €160,000
Biosafety and Biosecurity Risk Management knowledge development and transfer of best practices (South East Asia, South East Europe, the Caucasus, Moldova and Ukraine, African Atlantic Façade, North Africa) €1,920,000
Inter-agency CBRN response knowledge development and transfer of best practices (South East Asia and South East Europe, the Caucasus, Moldova and Ukraine) €960,000
CBRN import/export monitoring knowledge development and transfer of best practices (African Atlantic Façade, North Africa, Middle East, Central Asia) €1,440,000
Chemical and Biological Waste Management knowledge development and transfer of best practices (South East Asia) €480,000
Biosafety and Biosecurity guidelines, procedures and standardisation (Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Laos, The Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Macedonia, Moldova, Serbia) €1,200,000
Prerequisites to strengthening CBRN national legal frameworks (Cambodia, Laos, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia) € 800,000
National Response Plan in Lebanon for CBRN Events (Lebanon) €160,000
Development of e-learning courses for CBRN risk mitigation (International) €400,000
Promoting good practice and inter-agency procedures for assessing the risks of CBRN misuse (Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, Algeria, Morocco, Jordan) €1,920,000
Sharing experience between EU and South East Asian countries on the reinforcement of Legislation and regulations in the field of Biosafety and Biosecurity (Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Brunei Darussalam) €320,000
Capacity building and raising awareness for identifying and responding to threats from CBRN materials in Sub Saharan African countries (Sub-Saharan Africa) €320,000
Provision of specialized and technical training to enhance the first response capabilities (South East Europe, the Caucasus, Moldova and Ukraine) €400,000
Strengthening laboratory Biosafety and Biosecurity through development of a laboratory isobank system (Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand) €480,000
Supporting development of an integrated national nuclear security system (North Africa) €400,000
Establishing a National Response Plan in Ghana and Kenya for responding to unauthorized events involving CBRN materials (Ghana, Kenya) €240,000
International Network of universities and institutes for raising awareness on dual-use concerns in biotechnology (International) €400,000
Development of procedures and guidelines to create and improve secure information management systems and data exchange mechanisms for CBRN materials under regulatory control (International) €400,000
A full list of project requirements and application details is available at the CBRN CoE Call for Proposals site. The application deadline is April 15, 2012.
