The EURISC Foundation is an independent Think Tank, set up in Bucharest, Romania in 1995 to study and promote issues related to risk, security and communication. The EURISC Foundation seeks to promote security research and innovation (energy security, critical infrastructure protection problematic, a.o.), dialogue, education, training and research on major issues of national and international security, including nonproliferation, focusing on non-military risks, primarily natural hazards, climate chaos and national security, emerging systemic risks, corruption, organized crime (including illegal emigration and trafficking), terrorism, the security sector reform, security sector governance and the security culture. It is at the forefront of research in the fields of Energy Security, Critical Infrastructure Protection and Security Sector Reform. Its staff consists of the right mix of senior, retired members of the military, the Diplomatic Corps and academia, and junior researchers in the process of acquiring their PhD.

The EURISC Foundation is an Associated Partner for the European Global Strategy, under the coordination of the Swedish Institute of International Affairs. One of the most recent research projects it has undertaken is the “Space Systems as Critical Infrastructures” study in partnership with the Romanian Space Agency (ROSA). EURISC’s contribution to the project will be in identifying the criticality of various space infrastructures and quantifying the dependence of conventional critical infrastructures (financial, industrial, energy, education, communication) on these space systems. The final step is identifying and measuring risks to these systems and elaborating indicators such as technology readiness levels which will be used in measuring preparedness for disruptive events.

A recently completed research project is the “Energy Security and Critical Infrastructure Protection Strategy for Romania” in partnership with the Norwegian Cooperation Programme for Economic Growth and Sustainable Development. This is an exhaustive study into the state of Romania’s energy sector and the risks and challenges it faces. At the end, it performs a comparative analysis with the strategic framework for energy governance in Norway, at national and European level, and concludes with recommendations for good energy governance in Romania.

A key concern of the EURISC Foundation is the reform of the security sector, a field in which EURISC has led the way at European level with pilot programs and involvement in multinational endeavours. EURISC participated in the STARLINK program, (Security, Transparency, Accountability and Reform: Linking the Security Sectors of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine to the European Mainstream) as an associate in the programme run by the Centre for European Security Studies (CESS) in the Netherlands. The Foundation also developed the pilot project “Monitoring Exercise of Instruments and Mechanisms for the Parliamentary Oversight of the Security Sector in Romania” in partnership with the Committee for Defence, Public Order and National Security of the Parliament of Romania and the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces. Lastly, it provided the bulk of research for the project “Regional Security Strategy from the Perspective of the Civil Society”, in partnership with the Atlantic Treaty Organization and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which covered six countries – Croatia, Romania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Serbia, Albania and UNMIK Kosovo. It was the first time Serbia and Kosovo collaborated peacefully on research.

The EURISC Foundation also has experience in the field of complex research; EURISC was the leader of a 12 partner consortium involved in the research project “SIMAC – Master Modeller for the National Management System of Emergency and Crisis Situations”, a flagship project for Romania. Its aim was to create a complex model for integrated management of crises situations. This integration was meant to support the efficient development of the measures needed for a fast return to the normal status. The main partner and beneficiary in the research project “SIMAC – Master Modeller for the National Management System of Emergency and Crisis Situations” was the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations.

EURISC has a wide experience in coordinating and participating in complex national and international projects. Other projects, funded by the Romanian Ministry of Education and Research, include “Security Culture in the Balkans – CUSECOR”, “Development of decontamination products to be used in case of biological and chemical terrorist attacks – PRODECON”.

A joint program between EURISC, the Romanian Intelligence Service with the support of NATO Public Diplomacy Division, established The Information Center on the Security Culture in Bucharest in 2003. The project established a database for research, studies, national and international reports in this respect. The ICSC (Centrul de Informare pentru Cultura de Securitate) offers the opportunity for various partners to develop an interactive base of communication, to open a frame through NATO concepts.  This initiative came in response to the interest expressed by nongovernmental organizations with international expertise in the security culture. ICSC successfully became a model and a testing ground for the educational initiatives in this area. The project and experience was presented in a number of countries around the region, including Turkey.