IcARUS: Turning urban security research into practical solutions for European cities

Cities across Europe face complex urban security challenges, and EU-funded research plays a key role in developing innovative solutions. Yet even when projects generate valuable methods, tools, and insights, ensuring these results are adopted and sustained at the local level can be difficult. The EU-funded project IcARUS, is one example of how structured guidance can turn project outcomes into tangible, long-term impact.

From project outputs to urban innovation assets

IcARUS set out to rethink urban security policies through an integrated, multi-stakeholder approach that combines prevention, social cohesion, and innovation. While the project produced valuable knowledge and methodologies, the team recognised a need to systematically translate these outputs into actionable services for cities.
“Before joining Booster, one of our key challenges was bridging the gap between project outcomes and sustainable uptake by cities or private partners,” explains Asma Kaouech.

The project’s main Key Exploitable Result (KER) identified during the Booster process was the Innovation Studio: a platform dedicated to co-creating, testing, and scaling urban security solutions with cities and private partners. The studio exemplifies how research results can become practical, replicable innovation tools, tailored to local needs while maintaining ethical and evidence-based standards.

Structured guidance for lasting impact

Through Booster’s support, the IcARUS team refined their approach to exploitation and sustainability. It helped clarify the project’s impact vision and stakeholder ecosystem, guided the identification of the most valuable project results, definition of unique value propositions, and development of actionable exploitation routes. Later stages on business planning and funding connected the Innovation Studio’s outputs to potential long-term funding and sustainability options.

“Booster helped us move from simply disseminating results to systematically identifying, prioritising, and planning their exploitation through clear frameworks and tools,” notes Asma. “We learned to articulate the unique value of our project results for different users, which strengthened our capacity to co-create meaningful, scalable solutions.”

“Overall, Booster provided us with concrete frameworks, canvas and strategic tools that we are now integrating,” Asma adds. “It helped us make tangible progress in shifting from a ‘project-based logic’ to an ‘impact and exploitation’ culture.”

Strengthening the European innovation ecosystem

IcARUS demonstrates how EU support extends beyond project funding. By combining research with structured guidance and support on dissemination and exploitation, the EU ensures that project results can reach real-world applicability, and generate tangible impact.

Through the Innovation Studio, IcARUS is now translating urban security research into concrete, scalable solutions, helping cities across Europe ensure greater safety while providing a replicable model for bridging the gap between project outcomes and long-term impact.

Interested in learning more about how Booster can help your project turn results into real-world impact? You can hear directly from the IcARUS project during the 26 March 2025 Booster info session.

About IcARUS

The IcARUS Horizon Europe project aims to transform urban security policies through an integrated, evidence-based, and multi-stakeholder approach. By combining prevention, social cohesion, and innovation, the project develops tools, methods, and services to co-create, test, and scale urban security solutions with cities and private partners across Europe.