Operational Guidance: The EU’s International Cooperation on Cyber Capacity Building

The latest Operational Guidance published by authors at EU CyberNet, provides a practical framework for designing, implementing, and evaluating the European Union’s (EU) external actions in five main policy pillars: 1) National strategic cyber frameworks, 2) Cyber crisis prevention and management, 3) Criminal justice in cyberspace, 4) Cybersecurity education and culture, and 5) Cyber diplomacy.

The document covers the entire intervention cycle – programming, identifcation, formulation, implementation (including monitoring and reporting), and evaluation. It applies to all management modes (direct, shared, indirect) used in external action and is designed for bilateral, regional or global actions with a cyber-specifc focus, as well as informing actions with cyber components. Therefore, it provides comprehensive knowledge for designing, delivering, and evaluating CCB projects and activities.

With streamlined content and revised tools, the document serves a resource for EU staf in headquarters and delegations, as well as for services of Member States and implementing partners involved in cyber capacity building. Its objectives are to:

• Assist in designing appropriate, context-specifc project actions for cyber capacity building in partner countries and regions, drawing from development best practices and lessons learnt.
• Offer guidance on the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of such actions.
• Serve as the baseline material for training courses on cyber capacity building organised by the EU.