CivPro-LiNC Project Update

Project Status Update

The CivPro-LiNC project has now entered its final and most practice-oriented phase. Over the past months, the project consortium has achieved several important milestones and deliverables, laying the foundation for the upcoming pilot course for liaison officers in cross-border crisis management.

Among the key project results completed so far are the development of a job description for liaison officers (T4.2), the design of the CivPro-LiNC curriculum and the preparation of the first version of the manual for cross-border Liaisons. These outputs aim to support the professionalization of liaison work and strengthen cross-border cooperation in the field of civil protection.

The job description developed within the project (T4.2) provides a key basis for transferring the course content to other border regions and EU Member States. It defines the key tasks, competencies and requirements for liaison officers, thereby contributing to the creation of a common understanding of this role. As the fundamental tasks of liaison officers are largely comparable across different countries, the job description is highly transferable. At the same time, it provides a suitable basis for adapting training content to different national and regional contexts. 

Another key project outcome of CivPro-LiNC is the development of a manual for cross-border liaison officers in crisis management. The aim of the manual is to bring together fundamental content and provide it as a practical guide. At the same time, the manual is intended to serve as a prototype or template that can be adapted and further developed by different countries and border regions in the future. A first draft of the manual was developed prior to the start of the pilot course. The intention was not to present a fully finalised end product before the course took place. Rather, the manual is deliberately conceived as a dynamic and practice-oriented working document, which is to be actively used, discussed and evaluated by the participants during the pilot course. The experience, feedback and practical insights gained during the course are to be used specifically to further develop the content, structure and applicability of the manual. This approach takes account of the particular dynamics of cross-border cooperation in civil protection. The tasks, requirements and framework conditions for liaison officers are constantly evolving – for example, due to new risk scenarios, organisational and personnel changes, or technological developments. Accordingly, the manual is not designed as a static document, but as an interactive tool that can be continuously supplemented, adapted and updated. Based on the experience gained from the pilot course and further project work, a robust ‘blueprint’ for a European liaison manual is to be developed, which both defines common principles and offers sufficient flexibility for regional and national adaptations.

Final Preparations for the Pilot Course

The consortium is currently finalizing preparations for the CivPro-LiNC pilot course, which will take place at the Institute of Fire Service NRW (IdF NRW) in Münster, Germany, on:

• 7–8 May 2026
• 26–28 May 2026

The pilot course will bring together 20 participants, including 10 participants from border regions in Germany and 10 participants from the Netherlands. The course has been designed as an interactive and practice-oriented training programme focusing on the role of liaison officers in cross-border crisis management.

The programme combines theoretical input, operational exchange and practical application. Topics covered during the training include:

• general information on the civil protection and disaster management systems of both countries,
• operational and communication skills for liaison officers,
• intercultural communication and cultural competencies,
• exchange with experienced external liaison officers sharing real-life operational experiences,
• and a final tabletop exercise (TTX), allowing participants to apply the knowledge and tools acquired throughout the course in a realistic cross-border scenario.

A particular focus of the course lies on strengthening coordination, communication, and cooperation across borders, organizations and administrative structures.