Research security as a collective responsibility: empowering universities, enabling Europe

In an input note published today, titled “Research security as a collective responsibility: empowering universities, enabling Europe”, the over 50 leading universities of science and technology from across Europe and beyond, united within CESAER, affirm their commitment to strengthen research security as a collective European responsibility.

• The input note is available here for download and dissemination [PDF]

Ahead of the European Flagship Conference on Research Security, CESAER calls on European and national policymakers to empower universities to implement proportionate safeguards that protect research while fostering responsible collaboration.

Empowering universities to do so helps create the stable conditions in which academic freedom, scientific excellence, and international collaboration thrive, building resilience through collective responsibility and trust — without closing doors — enabling Europe’s competitiveness, prosperity and security.

The input note also offers insights, lessons learned, and best practices from across the CESAER Members to support universities in developing approaches to research security.

To achieve this, the note calls for action in five interlinked areas:

1. Building a strong institutional foundation;
2. Incentivising and empowering the researcher;
3. Integrating openness and security through a mutually reinforcing approach;
4. Ensuring responsible collaboration;
5. Assuming collective responsibility by co-creating a European level playing field.

“Safeguarding research security must be a shared endeavour between universities, national governments, and the EU. Through a coordinated approach, we can ensure consistent expectations, clear responsibilities, concrete supports and a mutually reinforcing balance between openness and security — strengthening Europe’s collective capacity for trusted and resilient research and innovation.”

— Orla Feely, President of CESAER and President of University College Dublin

“Research security is essential to safeguard academic freedom and enable scientific excellence, especially in times of geopolitical tension. By empowering universities with sufficient guidance, support, and legal certainty to implement proportionate safeguards, Europe can ensure open, responsible, and innovative research that drives societal prosperity and competitiveness.”

— Simone Rehm, Co-Chair of Task Force Openness of Science and Technology and Vice-Rector of University of Stuttgart

“Strengthening research security is an evolving process. While some of our CESAER Members are frontrunners, this note provides guidance to support the broader research community in taking early, visible steps to embed a culture of risk-aware, responsible research. To advance further, national and EU authorities must coordinate, provide coherent frameworks, and actively support universities across Europe.”

— Irna van der Molen, Secretary of Task Force Openness of Science and Technology and Senior Policy Officer Knowledge Security at University of Twente

For more information, please contact Advisor for Research Vincent Klein Ikkink.