CREST Commissioning Announcement
The UK Centre for Research and Evidence on Security Threats (CREST) has launched a call to commission a programme of research that addresses some of the current threats to national and international security.
The call is open to higher education Institutions, research organisations, charities, commercial companies, and individuals from the UK and overseas, who can demonstrate a capability to deliver a high-quality programme of research. Applicants are invited to submit proposals that address areas of both theoretical and practical importance. In some cases the focus of the call is on synthesizing existing research, while on others there is an opportunity to propose original research. Original research is understood broadly to include case studies, and all forms of qualitative and quantitative analysis, including proof-of-concept studies and methodological developments. The topics are:
- Creativity, innovation and learning by terrorists
- How those engaged in hostile activity conceive and manage their own security, and how they make risk judgments about the actions they wish to take
- Diasporas’ understanding of, and reaction to, conflict in their countries of origin
- Post-conflict resilience, transition, and rebuilding among individuals, communities and groups
- Conspiracy theories, particularly how they spread through networks and how this differs across cultures and communities
- The security implications of cross-cultural and generational differences in the adoption of virtual platforms
- How the effect of influence and interpersonal skills changes in modern communication channels
- Development of evidence-based, novel and effective measures of rapport in a variety of settings
- Best practices for culturally or context sensitive communication for gaining cooperation
- How to best support the resilience and welfare of undercover officers in a variety of contexts
- How individuals and teams make sense of incomplete data and what techniques could help
- Factors that hinder or support the effectiveness of multi-agency and/or multi-disciplinary team-working
- How to get employees to develop a security-savvy mindset as has been achieved with, e.g., safety culture, in order to promote good security behaviours in the workplace
- Individual and social factors that moderate first line responders’ effectiveness. How do first line responders best engage people who want to report information?
- Individual differences in people’s ability to spot subtle changes in a variety of environments, including rarely occurring or well hidden objects.
The deadline for submitting proposals is 17:00 (GMT) on 5 February 2016.
For further information go the the CREST website
