Research Market Gap in Law Enforcement Technology: Lessons from Czech Security Research Funding Programmes

• Main Author: Luděk Moravec
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sciendo 2014-12-01
• Series: Central European Journal of Public Policy
• Subjects: R&D policy, security R&D, technology, law enforcement
• Online Access: http://cejpp.eu/index.php/ojs/article/view/200

While security research funding schemes are nothing new to the EU (Horizon 2020 and FP7), or to several Member States, their priorities and procedures are usually decided administratively or shaped by advisory groups of varying membership. Only recently did the EU shift its focus to the role of end users in security research programmes, seeking their input in order to maximise the utility of funded solutions. Such a hint to limited usefulness of some industrial solutions is not exactly inconspicuous. This paper discusses the gap between the stated needs of law enforcement agencies in terms of R&D funding and the grant project applications in the area of law enforcement. It aims to define and describe the gap, and consequently the market opportunities, between the supply and demand sides represented by industry-driven grant project applications and end-user-formulated calls. The study is based on empirical data from two Czech security research funding programmes that have been running since 2010 and should deliver their results by 2015. It seeks to contribute some preliminary observations about the structure of both end user needs and industry capabilities in such a particular area as law enforcement technology.