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The Centre for Irish and European Security (CIES) 

The CIES since its inception in 2008 has offered expert independent research in the field of Irish and European aviation, civil and border security. Most recently our research has been directed towards embedding ethical themes into security technology implementation.

The CIES is the only Irish SME of its kind delivering expert security research input into the European market. The company has harnessed its unique position in the Irish marketplace to forge strong lasting collaborative relationships with a diverse blend of research centres, academic institutions and companies based in Ireland and abroad.

Moreover, the CIES has fostered collaborative partnerships with leading civil liberty campaigners and academics from the UK and, where appropriate, calls upon their input to various tasks and projects.

 Societal Impact: A new research approach  

The CIES has been at the centre of the recent drive towards integrating a mandatory societal impact dimension into European funded security research. CIES advises prospective collaborative partners at the pre-proposal stage wherein stringent, binding societal commitments must be met.

European funded projects

In addition, we participate on an ongoing basis in European funded projects under the Framework Seven Programme (FP7), offering expert research on the ethical and societal impact of new security technology as well as policy integration and dissemination activities.

Ultimately security research is the main process that determines the feasibility and sustainability of new security technology and techniques. A vital feature of this research is its societal suitability: Who is ultimately being served by new security technology and is it proportional?

The societal (or human) aspect of security research establishes links between implementation and research. It is the latters aim to ultimately serve the former, but without an end-user dimension at all research levels, security research output may not be fit for purpose at best or discriminatory at worst.

 Current Research Agenda

 The CIES is currently committed to four European funded security projects; two of which have begun, and the other two of which are due to begin in January 2013.  In addition the CIES and its collaborative partners submit research proposals for future funding on an ongoing basis..  

2012-2015: PACT (Public perception of security and privacy: Assessing knowledge, Collecting evidence, Translating research into action)

Is a three-year collaborative project, seeking to understand the complex interaction between privacy and security, the themes which feed into it and through a panEuropean survey articulate Europeans perceptions of the interaction between security and privacy.  

The CIES has already contributed (along with Uppsala University) to one deliverable, the link to which can be found here: http://www.projectpact.eu/deliverables/wp1-root-branch-review/d1.4-social-impact-report

Homepage:     http://www.projectpact.eu/         

2012-2014: ETTIS (European Security Threats and Trends in Society)

A EU FP7 collaborative research project focused on identifying and assessing opportunities for enhancing societal security, improving situation awareness and informing investment options for societal security. ETTIS aims to construct a comprehensive framework, which can be used in the formulation of future decisions and security policies.             

Homepage: http://ettis-project.eu/

Employee Profiles

 Sadhbh McCarthy is co-founder & Director of the CIES

Sadhbh, having originally worked exclusively in the IT sector, is now an independent consultant working at policy level in Ireland and Europe.  As a participant within the European Security Research Programme (ESRP & prior to that in the PASR) she is familiar not only with the content of security research but also with the objectives, priorities and political sensitivities that are key considerations across the sector.  Moreover, she has a proven track record of delivering in terms of stakeholder and public buy-in and has extensive experience at national and European level in multiple sectors. She balances her commitments at the CIES with advisory board roles in European projects, NGOs & private companies across Ireland.

email: sadhbh@cies.ie

Senior Associates

Operations & Programme Manager

 Peter McNulty has over 20 years experience as a senior IT consultant and project manager working mostly in the financial services industry in Ireland and the UK. He was previously Head of IT Development for the Lending Division of a leading UK bank before setting up his own company to provide consultancy services on retail lending products and systems. He has successfully delivered numerous complex programmes working closely with consultants from all over the world and developed a full support methodology for managing complex projects

email: peter@cies.ie

Communications Director

Orla Aungier has over 20 years experience as a Localisation Programme and Site Manager in the multi national IT sector in Ireland. She has managed a central services organisation across a range of disciplines including project management, with responsibilities in forecasting and management of the annual multi-million dollar budget as well as internal financial management and planning.  More recently she undertook Operations Management as well as a Communications & PR role for a leading Irish NGO.  Orla’s expertise in fostering strategic relationships on behalf of her clients has delivered significant business & funding growth.

email: orla@cies.ie

Junior Researcher

Daniel Deering has worked with CIES since April 2012. He holds an MSc in Applied Economics from The University of Nottingham, and a Bachelors degree in Economics from University College Dublin. His current research focuses on the intersection between civil liberties, privacy and security technology. His other research interests include human rights, the value of social capital in human development and civil society and government dynamics in repressive states.

email: daniel.deering@cies.ie

Admin: admin@cies.ie

TED University was established by an act of the Parliament dated July 07, 2009 (legislation # 5913) . The founder is the Turkish Education Association - Higher Education Foundation (TEDYÜV) which in turn was founded by the Turkish Education Association (TED).

The academic units of the University are 

• Faculty of Education,
• Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences,
• Faculty of Engineering and Architecture

and the first students will be enrolled in September 2012, for the academic year of 2012-2013. The medium of instruction at TED University is English. Students are expected to demonstrate an acceptable level of proficiency in English; otherwise they need to study at the English Language School for at least one year.  

TED University offers liberal arts education with a common core content of one year, a major content of two years and a minor content of one year. A large selection of elective courses, innovative teaching pedagogies, a student centered approach, and a balanced focus on both the depth and extensiveness of knowledge are typical features of the education at TEDU. 

TED University will be a learning, exploring institution of 4000-4500 students, bringing to Turkish higher education area a new scope through its educational profile, quality culture, international links and top quality academic staff.

Cesena is situated in Northern Italy within Emilia-Romagna Region, some 15km from the Adriatic coast. Together with Forlì it is the capital of the Forlì-Cesena district. The district has about 378,000 inhabitants in 30 municipalities. Cesena itself has a population of about 96,000.

A strategy for local sustainability is included in Cesena city council’s political programme for 2009-2014 (the Piano di mandato). The title of this strategy is ‘Sustainability as the lighthouse for every local policy’. It was adopted at a city council meeting in June 2009. This strategy re-establishes the objectives set out in the Local Action Plan designed during the Cesena Agenda 21 Forums in 2003.

Cesena objective for energy planning is:

Objective 20-20-20 : -20% gas carbon emissions, +20% use of renewable energy & 20% energy saving (EU Directive 20 20 20)

• Establishing a society for renewable energies owned by the city council
• Preparing and adopting an Energy Action Plan for the development of renewable energy sources
• Zero impact public administration: the Municipality runs environmental best practices

The council has not yet adopted a specific local strategy or action plan for sustainable energy. However, since becoming a signatory to the Covenant of Mayors in November 2009 the city council has made a commitment to achieve a larger reduction in CO2 emissions than the EU target of 20%, though no specific target figure has yet been established. To achieve this and meet obligations under the Covenant, the city is designing a Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP).

Cesena municipality is thus

aiming to participate in projects focused on:

•  energy efficiency in public buildings (in particular planning  actions to improve their operational efficiency through low-or-no-cost measures, effective commissioning or better operation and maintenance);
• renewable electricity generation;
• renewables for heating and cooling
• smart energy networks. 

Coventry is an evolving and innovative university with a growing reputation for excellence in education and applied research. Three words set us apart - employability, enterprise and entrepreneurship. Coventry University was 'Highly Commended' in the Entrepreneurial University of the Year category at the Times Higher Awards 2008. We're investing heavily in developing our state-of-the-art facilities with £160m earmarked for improvements over the next ten years. We seek to enhance the strong vocational emphasis of our courses and bolstering our links with the very best industry organisations.

Two research centres are involved in this FP7: The Centre for Disruptive Media and The Centre for Peace & Reconciliation Studies. Coventry University has significant experience leading and partnership in FP7 projects.

IMPEC offers governments an independent single point of contact that will help them raise the quality of government, contribute to society and increase the public trust level, thus, improving welfare in general. To improve government performance, IMPEC connects scientific thinking, multidisciplinary expertise and community input. As one of many tools, we have developed, offered and implemented performance monitoring and evaluation methods worldwide. We implement our methods for national and local government performance in all policy areas, such as education, health, security and agriculture. We use proven and innovative methodologies, including social and new media. Based on our experience we are convinced that collaborating in a transparent and performance-driven way will lead to more economic development and the capability to deliver a better service level to citizens.

In addition, IMPEC offers advice, expertise and services in the fields of policy matters, project financing, project management, research, monitoring and evaluation, communication and training.

The IMPEC form a dedicated project team, consisting of leading experts in their own fields. That allows us to employ a unique method to every policy area and each specific assignment. They effectively produce the desired research and analyses, give advice and empower the government professionals to improve their collective performance.

Our headquarters are located in The Hague (The Netherlands), city of peace and justice and ‘Legal capital of the world’, as the former Secretary‐General of the United Nations Boutros Boutros ‐ Ghali called it. The Head office is run by IMPEC founder Carlo Bakker and a team of highly motivated professionals.

IMPEC is always interested in meeting potential partners that would like to offer complementary expertise and explore fruitful partnerships.