What we work on

We put issues on the table before they reach the political agenda. Together with our Advisory Board and partner organisations, we set our thematic priorities for the coming six to twelve months and address two to three key questions in each three-month agenda-setting sprint. Our own research forms the basis for sound analyses and concrete policy recommendations.

Our focus is on Europe’s role in a multipolar world and the contribution Austria can make to it. This includes responding to technological and military developments, strengthening the industrial base of national defence, whole-of-government preparation for future conflicts, and opportunities for cooperation between the European Union, NATO and other actors. We examine how national measures, the European Union and NATO interact, and we make responsibilities and room for manoeuvre visible.

Together with the Austrian Institute for European and Security Policy, the Europa-Forum Wachau and the European Forum Alpbach, we are developing strategic foresight on relations between Europe and Russia up to 2029. The project analyses possible geopolitical developments and conflict scenarios and derives from them the political, military, economic and societal measures that will safeguard European resilience in the long term.

In structured dialogues with decision-makers, we translate these insights into robust scenarios. They provide an evidence-based foundation for institutional risk analyses and enable complex security risks to be communicated objectively.

Security policy must not remain a topic for expert circles. Together with universities, think tanks and specialists, we are building a nationwide dialogue platform that makes security policy questions accessible to a broad public.

On request, we support institutions in designing discussion formats and connect them with the right expertise. Our aim is a factual and constructive debate on Austria’s security policy orientation in all federal provinces. With a focus on evidence and depth of expertise, we counter emotionalised reporting and targeted disinformation with sound knowledge.

Major procurements often promise billions to the domestic economy – whether these commitments are honoured frequently remains unclear. With our Offset Monitor, we continuously document, on the basis of sources, which industrial cooperation projects are verifiably implemented. Mere announcements do not count: only what can be attributed to a company and an amount on the basis of publicly accessible, verifiable sources is recorded.

The first edition covers the €400 million in industrial cooperation agreed with the purchase of twelve Leonardo M-346FA jets – with key facts, a timeline, open questions and the Eurofighter deal as a benchmark.