Join the International Security Management – Knowledge Alliance (ISM-KA)

Safety and security are crucial dimensions for the functioning of democracies and economies and for the health, wellbeing and resilience of communities. Maintaining the peaceful consolidation of Europe and beyond, while strengthening a culture of freedom and justice has become one of the most debated societal challenges.  Reacting to and – even more importantly – preventing security threats demands joined-up and collaborative solutions, as no one agency, organisation or government is able to tackle these challenges on their own. Developments such as natural hazards, mass immigration, terrorism/radicalisation and growing interdependencies of critical infrastructures, have brought home the message that security management has exceeded the local level. The costs involved in security threats within the EU are tremendous. Yet, clear conceptualizations, structures and mindsets for a truly European security system are still missing. Especially within the EU, where national economies are strongly intertwined in an open European market, national law enforcement agencies, governmental organisations, educational institutions, private enterprises and other types of stakeholders need to adapt to new realities and need to cooperate closely on a European level cross-border.

Response to threats and their prevention requires joined-up and collaborative solutions. The International Security Management Knowledge Alliance (ISM-KA) addresses this issue by creating sustainable and concrete resources and structures to foster international security collaborations. With this alliance we establish an international learning, teaching and knowledge-sharing environment, which contributes to the development and professionalization of leadership, innovation and operational proficiency in the field of international safety and security. The ISM-KA brings together outstanding academics and practitioners from public and private sectors across Europe to discuss and develop approaches to local safety and security challenges. Our guiding principles are multi-stakeholder involvement, evidence-based management, co-creation, international perspective and policy-practice alignment. We develop innovative education methods that leverage academic expertise in developing solutions, alongside end-users, in co-creating educational models and content that address real-world operational and cross-border needs.

The executive master delivers innovative learning approaches to improve organisations’ capacity to trigger entrepreneurial mind-sets through cross-learning and public/private combinations in a multi-stakeholder environment and creating a sustainable business model for delivering world-class education in the international safety and security market. The master boost knowledge exchange between academia, private enterprise and public bodies in the fields of safety and security management through the creation of knowledge structures and cross-sectoral, international educational (executive and open) programmes.

Facilitate the exchange, flow and co-creation of knowledge

ISM-KA aims to act as a connecting point in the European security environment and related market, to reinforce public and private capabilities to prevent and respond to security threats. Through the organisation of expert panels by all partners in their respective countries we have and will reach out into our networks to discuss safety and security challenges. This knowledge is then taken forward in to the process of creating new educational resources. We establish an international learning, teaching and knowledge-sharing environment which contributes to the development and professionalization of leadership, innovation and operational proficiency in the field of international safety and security. This master programme fosters effective cooperation mechanisms that combine practitioner and academic expertise in response to security threats and global crime.

Why ISM-KA?

Decision makers need to acquire the skills, mind-sets and experiences to operate in such an international arena. International and multi-stakeholder cooperation requires far-reaching changes within public organisations and private sector partners. Not all actors want to be involved in safety related activities, as many may not trust the police or other partners sufficiently to collaborate. Co-creation of safety is dependent on the mutual trust between all involved stakeholders. Successful private-public partnerships or international collaborations require a readjustment of organisational and professional identities and the redefinition of power perceptions and distributions.

• Currently, private companies who operate in the security domain, law enforcement agencies, crisis management agencies and others, find themselves lacking capacity in critical areas due to the absence of innovative educational provisions. Our International Security Management Knowledge Alliance (ISM-KA) addresses this issue by creating sustainable and concrete resources and structures to foster international security collaborations.
• This ISM-KA will strengthen Europe’s innovative capacity, by fostering innovation in higher education, the private and public sector and a broader socio-economic environment. Safety and Security is a core challenge in Europe and beyond. By developing innovative security concepts, Europe can strengthen its thought leadership and innovative prime position in the global context.
• ISM-KA will boost knowledge exchange between academia, private enterprise and public bodies in the fields of safety and security management through the creation of knowledge structures and cross-sectoral, international educational (executive and open) programs. It will create and build networks across multiple sectors and disciplines in the safety and security domain, bringing the public and private sectors closer together in knowledge exchange to address European security challenges.
• ISM-KA will bridge the gaps between education, training and employment by combining efforts of HEIs, public and private organisations in designing its products and services. Stimulating dialogues between universities, private industry, government and public authorities and enterprises gives further insights in knowledge, skills and behaviours required by security and police professionals across borders in the EU.
• Deliverables of ISM-KA will be horizon scanning for security threats/development, an exchange/knowledge platform for public and private security experts and the creation of a multi-disciplinary, sectoral based accredited MSc, including security issues related MOOC’s for an outreach to the wider public. Guiding principles are multi-stakeholder involvement, evidence-based management, co-creation, international perspective and policy-practice alignment. With this we will establish an international learning, teaching and knowledge-sharing environment, which contributes to the development and professionalization of leadership, innovation and operational proficiency in the field of international safety and security.

Benefits for the Private Sector

Private sector organisations are key partners in this project, as without their commitment, true strategic collaboration between the academic, public and professional sectors could not be mapped and understood and the educational innovation proposed by this ISM-KA could not be developed.

For participants from the private sector, the focus will be on developing awareness of academic developments, relevance and opportunities, but also on the co-creation of the learning materials that are relevant for their industrial and entrepreneurial partners. Private sector partners develop an understanding of the externalities of their activities. Global distribution and infrastructure networks need to consider the implications of global developments for their business activities. Threats to critical infrastructures are relevant to understand in order to forecast and mitigate such risks. A better understanding of the dynamics of the broader environments and the different actors (public and private institutions) allows on the one hand for a higher degree of adaptivity of private sector companies and on the other hand for a more effective involvement of the private sector in the joint development of sustainable solutions.

The Consortium ISM-KA

The consortium of ISM-KA consists of partners from higher education, private industry, law enforcement, municipalities, and NGO’s. The partners have extensive expertise in the design and implementation of training programs in the field of international safety and security working with and employing safety and security professionals from the operational to the strategic level. An advisory board consisting of core players in the security arena ensures the quality, practical relevance and wide dissemination of activities.

You can find more information on https://www.ism-ka.eu/ or www.rsm.nl/cesam. Or you can contact prof. dr. Gabriele Jacobs, academic project coordinator ISM-KA – Professor Social- & Organizational Psychology – Co-director Center of Excellence for Public Safety Management (CESAM).  GJacobs@rsm.nl (phone: +31 (0)10 408 2373)