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Anchoring and knowledge transfer

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Anchoring and knowledge transfer

A great advantage and strong point of the SENTINELS research program is that it can build on an existing informal network of researchers and practitioners in the Netherlands. The program intends to extend this network and make sure that it has a complete coverage. At the same time the program wishes to avoid the pitfalls of early institutionalization (high, unproductive overhead costs). The basis should be solid research at the work floor level by competent people. Only when such research is flourishing and having impact --and not earlier-- one can start working towards a National ICT Security Research and Competence Center in the Netherlands.

Despite this hesitation to institutionalize too early, an evidently important element of SENTINELS is to ensure that the acquired knowledge will be made available as widely as possible for as long as possible. This ensures transparency and extensive knowledge exchange. Therefore the program will set up a clear presence on the web, and seek the professional assistance of SENTER and the ECP.NL forum (both supported by the Ministry of Economic Affairs) to realize its dissemination goals. Also, it will actively participate in ongoing national discussions (involving for instance TNO and other research institutes, universities and a possible ``Regieorgaan ICT-onderzoek'' [21]) about further coordination and consolidation of security research.

The following initial steps have already been taken within the existing informal network towards dissemination:

The SAFE-NL platform (see section 2.7.27) has continually been strengthened. On average SAFE-NL meetings are attended by about 50 researchers. The majority of the speakers are always from industry and government. Three meetings were held in 2002, and two are planned in 2003. The reason that SENTINELS and SAFE-NL co-exist is that the life time of SAFE-NL is intended to be permanent, whereas SENTINELS will run for a limited number of years.
Discussions between UT, KUN and TNO have started to create a national ``ICT-security competence center'' to facilitate the anchoring of security research in the Netherlands.
Contacts have been established with the European Commission and the Ministry of Economic Affairs to investigate the contribution of SAFE-NL and/or SENTINELS towards defining the Dutch role in the European Network and Information Security Agency.
At the start of SENTINELS, the SAFE-NL website will be developed into a comprehensive portal for security research, providing a web portal and a first point of contact for anyone (education, industry, government, public authorities, hospitals, etc.) searching for security expertise.
A security ambassador is planned. He/she is someone (ideally from industry) who is very capable in promoting the SENTINELS range of ideas. See section 3.4 for more details.
For SENTINELS, one (or more) knowledge exchange and anchoring plan(s) will be made. Also, knowledge exchange activities will be organized and supported in all possible ways, with at least one annual conference where the results of the projects are presented, and where discussions with representatives from other disciplines take place.
SENTINELS will contribute and support the forming of a ``Regieorgaan ICT-onderzoek'' in the Netherlands [21].
SENTINELS has also planned funding for a VICI-style professor in information security at a Dutch university. This form of grant is directed at senior researchers who have shown that they have the ability to successfully develop their own innovative lines of research and to act as coaches for young researchers. See section 3.3 for more details.

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