Ecorys supports International Forum To Advance First Responder Innovation

Ecorys provides support to the IFAFRI with project management and stakeholder engagement activities. 

IFAFRI is an organisation of international government leaders focused on enhancing and expanding the development of affordable, innovative technology for first responders worldwide. IFAFRI helps the world’s first responders conduct their missions more effectively, safely, and efficiently by providing information that may influence the global market to develop affordable and innovative technology for first responders.

The Forum responds to a twofold impediment to innovation: 

1. It provides a centralised mechanism for first responders to identify and discuss shared needs or capability gaps at a global level; 
2. It helps first responder agencies to purchase tools and equipment in larger quantities by ‘pooling’ needs and gaps.

To this end, the Forum seeks to achieve four strategic objectives:

• Define a list of common capability gaps of first responders
• Provide a platform for international collaboration on innovative research and development (R&D) initiatives and solutions 
• Characterise global first responder markets, to inform and guide industry to make innovative technology available at affordable prices
• Provide unbiased information about relevant and available first responder technologies

To achieve these objectives, the Forum relies on a Project Management Office (PMO) that supports the Forum Chair in the development, organisation and management of the various Forum activities. Since 2017, the European Commission is chairing the initiative after the United States (Department of Homeland Security) initiated and led the Forum for three years. 

Ecorys is successfully running the PMO for more than two years now and provides support to the Forum Chair Andrea De Candido (DG HOME, Head of Unit ‘Innovation and Industry for Security’) and his team. Ecorys also supports the three working Committees, an additional Committee Chairs Coordination (CCC) meeting and the organisation of several IFAFRI events including an Annual Forum meeting. The Committees are the Forum’s working groups and cover the three topics laid out in its objectives: First Responder Research & Development, Capability Gaps and Stakeholder Engagement. 

Ecorys is also responsible for stakeholder engagement activities and is going to conceptualised and organised an EU Industry Day in 2019 in Brussels with 200 participants mostly from the private sector and the innovation community from the first responders and security sector. The aim was to communicate IFAFRI’s goal of enhancing and expanding the development of affordable, innovative technology for first responders worldwide to interested stakeholders. 

For further information contact Alexandra Schmid. 
More information about IFAFRI