Related projects
We as FALCON are committed to networking and establishing liaisons with other projects supporting the fight against corruption.
Below you find the projects we are in contact with so far. If you are part of a project which is not yet listed here, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with the FALCON coordinator.
ANTICORRP
ANTICORRP (Anticorruption Policies Revisited: Global Trends and European Responses to the Challenge of Corruption) was a large-scale research project funded by the European Commission’s Seventh Framework Programme. The project started in March 2012 and ended February 2017. Its central objective was to investigate factors that promote or hinder the development of effective anti-corruption policies. The ANTICORRP project was unprecedented in its scale and the variety of approaches used to investigate corruption and anti-corruption policies. As such many of the research that it pioneered was ground-breaking and significantly advanced our knowledge in this field.
Many of the researchers involved in the project continue to work on these issues. Their work contributes to a better informed academic debate surrounding the control of corruption and, ultimately, to better and evidence-based anti-corruption policies.
ATHENA
As cyberthreats grow more sophisticated, many hardware and software manufacturers, especially smaller firms, struggle to meet Europe’s new digital security laws. Nevertheless, it is important that they comply with the EU’s Cyber Resilience Act and other legislation.
In this context, the EU-funded ATHENA project is developing a flexible cybersecurity platform tailored to their needs. It will support secure design from the start, streamline actions needed for compliance and certification, and offer powerful tools for vulnerability detection. Developed AI-based services will enhance the ability to continuously assess and protect digital products. By easing the path to secure, regulation-ready technologies, ATHENA will strengthen Europe’s digital defences without leaving smaller players behind.
BorderForce
The EU is grappling with increased border security challenges, with physical barriers now covering 13 % of its external land borders. Migration, smuggling, and geopolitical tensions are rising, demanding more sophisticated surveillance solutions. Traditional methods are insufficient to address the dynamic and evolving threats. There is a need for real-time, adaptable, and sustainable border security measures.
The EU-funded BorderForce project responds to these challenges by enhancing real-time surveillance capabilities using AI: with dynamic, transportable stations that feature versatile surveillance towers, anti-drone capabilities, satellite and UAV assets, autonomous sensors and relevant OSINT data. It ensures frequent monitoring and early threat assessment, prioritising ethical considerations and fundamental rights. This innovative project collaborates with border authorities to improve regional stability and security.
BridgeGap
BridgeGap, short for Bridging the Gaps in Evidence, Regulation and Impact of Anticorruption Policies, is a four-year Horizon research project (2024-2027) following the EU-funded ANTICORRP project. Led by Professor Alina Mungiu-Pippidi, it aims to advance scientific evidence for corruption deterrence and empower reformers, civil societies, and the press.
Building on ANTICORRP’s interdisciplinary approach, BridgeGap seeks to deepen the understanding of corruption, enhance political corruption data, and leverage modern technologies for detection and prevention. The project uniquely addresses corruption as a policy issue, focusing on domestic and cross-border vulnerabilities, digital transparency, and regulatory gaps, while strengthening the link between academia and policy for effective anticorruption strategies.
ENACT
The mission of the European Network Against Crime and Terrorism (ENACT) is to support the exchange of research and innovation knowledge as well as the visibility and uptake of solutions in the fight against crime and terrorism (FCT).
Started in September 2023, the three-year Horizon Europe project aims specifically to provide evidence-based support to decision-makers in the EU research and innovation ecosystem in the FCT domain, as well as to drive the uptake of innovation by enhancing the visibility and reliability of innovative FCT security solutions.
LAGO
LAGO, short for Lessen Data Access and Governance Obstacles, aims to establish a trusted European Research Data Ecosystem (RDE) to enhance data-driven innovation in combating crime and terrorism. The project addresses the lack of high-quality datasets by developing a multi-actor reference architecture for secure data sharing.
LAGO’s objectives include assessing data sharing barriers, defining privacy and ethical requirements, designing a reference architecture, creating a governance framework, and validating the ecosystem in real scenarios. Additionally, it focuses on developing advanced technologies to ensure data privacy, quality, and quantity within the RDE.
MultiRATE
MultiRATE, short for Holistic framework for the MatUrity evaLuaTIon of ReAdiness level for security TEchnologies, is a project that aims to combine existing readiness level approaches into a single acceptable and reliable scaling framework.
Thus, MultiRATE will be able to evaluate and apply the readiness of all aspects of products/systems/processes, taking into consideration several areas of knowledge such as Technology Readiness Level (TRL) scale, Integration Readiness Level (IRL), Commercialisation Readiness Level (CRL), Manufacturing Readiness Levels (MRL), Security, Privacy and Ethics Readiness Level (SPRL) and Societal Readiness Level (SRL).
NOTIONES
Novel technologies offer opportunities for enhancing intelligence processes but also pose challenges, particularly when exploited by terrorists or criminals. Identifying and analyzing these technologies’ impacts on both intelligence and criminal organizations is crucial. However, intelligence practitioners can struggle to stay updated due to time constraints, delaying technology adaptation and the development of countermeasures.
NOTIONES, or iNteracting netwOrk of inTelligence and securIty practitiOners with iNdustry and acadEmia actorS, aims to address this by creating a network connecting researchers, industries, and the intelligence community. This network will facilitate information exchange on emerging technologies and align solutions with practitioner needs, resulting in periodic reports with technological roadmaps, priorities, and recommendations for future research and development.
PERUN
The EU-funded PERUN project will strengthen European cybersecurity by leveraging AI and machine learning to analyse and counter new cyber threats targeting software, firmware, and hardware effectively.
The project will develop advanced tools and algorithms for malware detection and analysis, focusing on digital infrastructures, including national cybersecurity systems, education networks, critical energy infrastructures, NGOs providing essential services, and security operations centres across various sectors.
PRESERVE
PRESERVE will deliver a trustworthy, transparent, and easy-to-use Hybrid C-UAS C2 platform supporting Police Authorities with the prevention, early detection and optimal management of operational response against current and emergent threats in drone technology, increasing the security of citizens in public spaces and contributing significantly to the novel EU Counter-UAS policy.
By fusing heterogeneous data from an array of physical sensors and online sources, the project will tackle the so far unmanageable threat of weaponised consumer drone swarms through open-source knowledge by non-state actors.
RESPOND
The RESPOND project (Rescuing Democracy from Political Corruption in Digital Societies) focuses on addressing critical gaps in the study of political corruption. Running from 2024 to 2029, it aims to understand how undue influences affect democratic processes and the dual role of digital technologies in perpetuating or combating corruption.
RESPOND targets four research gaps: transitioning legitimate political influence to corruption, the impact of digitalization on corruption, the effect of undue influences on democratic participation, and the development of effective anti-corruption solutions. The project employs interdisciplinary collaboration and a mixed-method approach to generate insights, co-create anti-corruption tools, and foster innovation in understanding and addressing political corruption.
TESSERA
TESSERA (Towards the European Security Data Space for Innovation) is a Horizon Europe–funded project supporting the implementation of the European Data Strategy in the security domain. It conducts preparatory work towards high-quality, large-scale, trusted, and shareable datasets that underpin the vision of the European Security Data Space for Innovation (EU SDSI) and contribute to Europe’s data sovereignty.
Building on identified operational use cases and associated AI technologies, TESSERA focuses on defining requirements that enable the interoperability and secure sharing of heterogeneous security datasets, while ensuring compliance with privacy, data protection, and fundamental rights. The project also specifies key architectural aspects of the data-related national components of the EU SDSI, including user management, data access, exchange, and interconnectivity, while complementing past and ongoing EU-funded initiatives and engaging relevant stakeholders.
VANGUARD
The EU-funded VANGUARD project aims to strengthen the fight against Trafficking in Human Beings (THB) through advanced technological AI solutions, understanding, awareness raising and training, particularly against THB for sexual exploitation, labour exploitation and forced criminality.
VANGUARD aims to provide an improved intelligence picture and develop a modular and trustworthy suite of AI-supported tools for detecting, identifying, investigating and preventing online-facilitated THB activities based on analysis of online multimedia content, as well as THB-related activities at (border) checkpoints based on analysis of multimodal streams. The project will also raise awareness, engage stakeholders and develop strategies for improved international collaboration and effective policy making.
