KIWi Compass

No red lines

Academic cooperation within complex legal and regulatory environments

Cooperation after the “turning point”?

When the DAAD published the first edition of the KIWi Compass “No Red Lines” in December 2020, many geopolitical certainties had already begun to falter. […]

Read the preface in full

The changing framework conditions and their impact on international academic cooperation were already clearly noticeable. The hasty withdrawal of the international troops and the takeover of the Taliban in Afghanistan were not yet foreseeable at that time. Even less so Russia’s attack on Ukraine, leading to a war within Europe. With the now proclaimed “Zeitenwende” (“turning point”), the need for orientation and action-relevant knowledge for international academic cooperation has once again increased significantly. And the question of “red lines” in international cooperation is more topical than ever before.

Developments over the last two years have made one thing in particular very clear: Academic exchange and international scientific cooperation do not take place in an apolitical setting. On the contrary: The area of scientific cooperation holds special significance on a political level. Whether aspired to or not, science has become a hard currency in international cooperation. On the one hand, the need for science-based perspectives on major social, global and even planetary issues is constantly growing. On the other hand, we are increasingly seeing non-democratic or autocratic tendencies in important countries around the world. For many states, a leading role in research and technology has long since become an integral part of a grand strategy for the defence or attainment of their own global power position.

So how can academic cooperation be organised and promoted in the interests of science without being naive and ignoring the political conditions and implications? The DAAD is in favour of a differentiated perspective based on a criteria-led appraisal. Not least, the topics, actors and contexts of the respective cooperation must be taken into account. It is therefore a matter of a sensitive process of analysis and negotiation, based on an honest and rational weighing up of values, interests, risks and opportunities. This also means that a categorical definition of generally applicable “red lines” is not practical. Instead, the focus should be on examining and negotiating specific cooperation conditions in their concrete constellations. This naturally includes – in each specific case – the question of when limits are reached and specific forms of cooperation are no longer justifiable.

With the KIWi Compass “No Red Lines”, the DAAD provides support in precisely this area. The guide enables universities and research institutions to make well-founded, comprehensively informed and reflective assessments of opportunities and risks on the basis of clear criteria. In doing so, it helps higher education stakeholders to make autonomous decisions with regard to specific cooperation constellations.

Prof Dr Joybrato Mukherjee
President of the German Academic Exchange Service e.V.

Introduction

Portrait photo of Dr. Julia Linder. In July 2018 the German Science and Humanities Council published a set of recommendations on internationalisation for higher education institutions. The core message of the recommendations was that, in a rapidly changing world, higher education institutions needed more knowledge and advice in order to be able to instigate or continue international higher education partnerships to the benefit of both parties, even in challenging contexts. […]

Read the full introduction

The Council advised that an advice centre be set up ‘to provide information and advice for academic institutions on international cooperation agreements, and also on risks specific to the academic sector and legal issues relevant to research.’ (Wissenschaftsrat 2018:8). In the form of the Centre for International Academic Collaboration, the DAAD has set up just such a centre and now offers German higher education institutions a central point of contact that offers tailored information on advice, primarily on ‘risk and security’, ‘managing international research cooperation’ and ‘legal and regulatory environments’.

The criteria presented here offer higher education institutions a framework that they can use when working with international partners – especially those in volatile environments and complex political, legal and regulatory environments – to make better independent assessments of opportunities and risks. Subcriteria are defined for each criterion and relevant open-access information sources are named. For example, the report outlines the information provided by the International Crisis Group on the security situation in a country. Other sources include the ‘Academic Freedom Index’ and the DAAD’s ‘Pressespiegel Internationale Hochschulwelt – Corona-Update’ on health and infection situations.

Consulting the selected sources will make it easier for higher education institutions to maintain and expand their existing partnerships with key countries even in the face of ever-more complex legal and political environments. In countries where the potential for such partnerships exists, such as Colombia, Tunisia and Jordan, higher education institutions should be able to develop new partnerships based on realistic assessments and drawing on appropriate skills and knowledge. Higher education institutions and academic disciplines that have, until now, been less active in this area can use the new ‘KIWi Compass’ to ensure they are better informed. This will allow them to decide on an individual basis where it is worth expanding their partnerships.

This paper is based on interviews and discussions conducted by the authors with representatives of German higher education institutions. It also draws on the experience and insights of the DAAD’s international network and experts at the DAAD’s headquarters. These conversations focused on identifying challenges and questions raised by the higher education institutions in their discussions with the DAAD. The higher education institutions themselves also hold a considerable amount of expertise on this issue. As such, this Compass is just the starting point for further discussions and we would be delighted to receive your comments on points we have missed, your criticisms and your experiences. This ‘Compass’ sees itself as a ‘living document’ that is to be continuously developed and updated. For this purpose, the Centre for International Academic Collaboration will maintain its close links with higher education institutions by conducting discussions with experts and practitioners.

Dr. Julia Linder; Dr. Claudia Nospickel; Marc Wilde

Risk and opportunity assessment

This paper forms part of the KIWi Compass’ series and aims to support higher education institutions as they initiate and implement international partnerships. In addition it seeks to help them position themselves professionally successfully in increasingly volatile environments. The DAAD aims to raise awareness among German higher education institutions about how they can undertake independent risk and opportunity analyses in cooperation with international partners. To this end, the DAAD has compiled a catalogue of criteria for orientation and to support decision-making processes.Consulting the selected sources will make it easier for higher education institutions to maintain and expand their existing partnerships with key countries even in the face of ever-more complex legal and political environments. In countries where the potential for such partnerships exists, such as Colombia, Tunisia and Jordan, higher education institutions should be able to develop new partnerships based on realistic assessments and drawing on appropriate skills and knowledge. Higher education institutions and academic disciplines that have, until now, been less active in this area can use the new ‘KIWi Compass’ to ensure they are better informed. This will allow them to decide on an individual basis where it is worth expanding their partnerships.

The six criteria

The KIWi Compass “No Red Lines” uses six criteria to assess the opportunities and risks of international academic cooperations.

Criterion 1: The wider security situation

The presented criteria catalog is built upon the foundational dimension of personal safety, encompassing key factors essential for safety considerations.

Criterion 2: Wider political imperatives

In the presented criteria catalog, thorough consideration is given to both the overarching political classification and a detailed security analysis, ensuring a comprehensive evaluation.

Criterion 3: Constitutional and sociopolitical framework

Global scientific partnerships necessitate cultural sensitivity and legal acumen. Further training support contributes to proficiency in these aspects.

Criterion 4: Opportunities and risks of the respective academic system

Academic collaborations entail potentials and risks. Performance, internationalization, alignment, and ethics play a crucial role.

Criterion 5: Performance and fit of the academic partner institution(s)

Criterion 5 evaluates academic partners’ performance and fit through rankings, education analyses, and bibliometric databases.

Criterion 6: Integration into institutional strategies

Professional cooperation management requires integration into the overall institutional strategy. This includes adaptability and openness.

Guidelines for the KIWi Compass

These criteria are further differentiated through sub-criteria and supplemented by a selection of exemplary references. The various subcriteria depict a range of factors that have a significant impact on project-related cooperation with international partners. These factors should be given systematic consideration as part of any risk and security management processes. Furthermore the aim is to enable higher education institutions to make specific judgements about the criteria for themselves.
This set of criteria are underpinned by practical experience and will serve as a basis for decision-making by a range of stakeholders in higher education. Senior leaders, managers, academics and researchers can use the criteria to assess what should be considered in each of their own opportunity/risk evaluations and, where necessary, risk assessments, so that international academic cooperation can succeed even in complex political and legal environments.

The purpose of this list of criteria is to raise awareness about the multi-dimensionality of significant issues linked to safety and security. The list creates the basis for discussion and work on precautionary, proactive and reactive measures that facilitate sensitive evaluation and informed decision-making and action in challenging contexts and conflict situations. It is of relevance to a range of stakeholders in higher education institutions, including senior leaders, managers, academics and researchers.

The list is derived from experience gained from projects and practice in international academic cooperation. As such, the six criteria give higher education institutions a frame of reference based on practical experience. It allows the various stakeholder groups involved (directly or indirectly) in internationalisation processes a means to make objective assessments of the chances and risks of an international cooperation.

This edition of ‘KIWi Compass’ was prepared following a series of conversations with higher education institutions and experts. The intention is for it to be subject to ongoing development and updates, so the DAAD will invite stakeholders to participate in a range of formats over the coming months so they can actively contribute to the process of continual improvement

Details about working with the KIWi Compass

How can higher education institutions make an informed, objective and structured assessment of whether cooperating with international partners will be mutually worthwhile, academically productive and meaningful?

A holistic approach is necessary in order to gain a full picture of the many different challenges here. This approach will have to tease apart the complex issues at the level of institutions and individuals, and offer an orientational frame of reference to higher education institutions that is based on experience. This ‘KIWi Compass’ aims to help higher education institutions take and implement decisions with greater confidence when initiating and undertaking international cooperation projects.

The KIWi Compass therefore provides a framework of six criteria which are introduced below. Selected subcriteria and key questions supplement each criterion, along with online sources of information. The majority of these sources are open-access and free of charge, and provide as comprehensive an overview as possible. The selection process also considered the quality of the analysis and how information is presented, along with how widely a source was disseminated and used within international partnerships (including those beyond academia). Sources and analyses specific to single countries were generally not included. Such sources will be discussed in white papers and expert discussions on selected countries. They will also be taken as a basis for the one-to-one advisory conversations offered by the Centre for International Academic Collaboration.

The paper concludes by looking at opportunities for higher education institutions to develop their own more comprehensive risk and security systems. Some institutions have already made a good deal of progress in this, and their experiences will serve as the basis for discussions with other interested institutions.

Prospects – what happens next?

The Competence Centre for International Academic Collaborations provides guidance and information services to support higher education institutions in establishing and enhancing tailored, resilient, and profitable partnerships with overseas institutions. One key focus area is understanding the opportunities and risks associated with international collaboration, particularly in terms of safety and security. Our current services in this area can be categorized into three pillars.

The services currently under development for this area can be assigned to three columns, addressing the chances and risks associated with collaborating with foreign partners. The first column concerns the decision-making process. This edition of ‘Compass’ falls in that column. The second column analyses mechanisms and processes at higher education institutions. The third column of this topic area focuses on selected countries, regions and disciplines. On the basis of the catalogue of criteria presented here, institutions can develop tailored and application oriented analyses of the potential of a national science system, the intercultural characteristics of a region or the challenges for specific academic disciplines.

1. Decision-making

Person icon next to a speech bubble with a checkmark inside a white circle on a light green background. Next to the icon is a blue "1".

Security situation
Wider political imperatives
Constitutional and sociopolitical framework
Opportunities and risks of the academic system
Performance and fit of the academic partner(s)
Integration into institutional strategies

2. Mechanisms and processes at higher education institutions

Group of people icon on a white circle on a light green background. Next to the icon is a blue "2".

Raising awareness to prevent ‘one size fits all’-approaches in higher education institution
Group-specific information for higher education leaders, international offices, academics and researchers, administrators, project coordinators, students, PhD students
Sharing information and experience to develop risk and security management systems

3. Applications at country, region and discipline level

Black compass icon on a white circle on a light green background. Next to the icon is a blue "3" in a dark green circle.

Systemic expertise (Criteria 1–5) within a country
Intercultural expertise within a region
Discipline-specific applications, e.g.
⇒ dual-use in engineering
⇒ Academic freedom in the socialsciences
⇒ Safety and security in remote areas or settlements in agricultural and health sciences or geography

Our ultimate goal is to support institutions in transitioning from theoretical considerations to practical implementation by developing robust systems and structures for managing risk, security, and crises. Through expert groups and collaboration with higher education institutions, we aim to provide practical information and advisory services that consolidate examples of good practice, share innovative solutions, and empower institutions to navigate complex environments effectively.

Developing structures and systems to manage risk, security and crises

The Initiative Wirtschaftsschutz information portal is provided in association by the four security agencies in Germany: the Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz, the Federal Criminal Police Office, the Bundesnachrichtendienst and the Federal Office for Information Security. The portal provides a wide range of information and frameworks, with a particular focus on cybercrime, economic and scientific espionage and IT security. It is highly recommended as an information portal. The ‘building blocks for basic economic protection’ should be consulted for advice on how to implement and develop specific systems and structures for risk, security and crisis management. The documents are presented as practical guidelines.

Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences hosts an annual ‘International Staff Week’ entitled ‘Risk Assessment and Security Management in HIE Mobility’. During the week-long event, participants engage with concepts of risk assessment, decision-making and security management in practical ways. The focus is on exploring concepts, understanding legal frameworks and environments, and putting travel safety processes into practice. The International Staff Week is aimed at university staff who work in the field of international mobility.

Employers’ duties to provide, care, information and protection when deploying staff abroad

German Social Accident Insurance (DGUV) has worked with SOS International to create a framework and reference work on employers’ duties to provide care, information and protection when deploying staff abroad: Rights and obligations of German companies towards their employees on deployments abroad. In collaboration with the Sant’Anna Scuola Universitaria Superiore Pisa, International SOS Foundation produced a 2017 study entitled ‘Universities Duty of Care’ specifically on the context of higher education. The study focuses on three aspects in particular: I) the legal basis for universities’ duty of care; II) the content of academic institutions’ duties of care, especially with regard to field research, including its planning, risk assessment and administration; and III) how recent case law has treated universities’ duties of care.

SOS International also provides ‘Guidelines on risk assessing business trips abroad’. This was a joint project with the Berufsgenossenschaft Rohstoffe
und chemische Industrie (BG RCI), the Gesamtverband der versicherungsnehmenden Wirtschaft (GVNW) and the Institute of Occupational and Social Medicine at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf. It provides a set of practical guidelines on how to develop preventative measures in the context of implementing comprehensive systems and structures to manage risk and security where international mobility is involved. The guidelines introduce readers to the topic area and provide checklists, complemented by interviews with practitioners.

Three electronic checklists and sets of guidelines are available on the website of the University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, ‘GesundeKMU.de’: (1) ‘PanPlan’ for pandemic planning in SMEs, (2) a RecoveryPlan for restarting after the pandemic and (3) the RABiT Risk Analysis for Business Travel checklist. These resources were developed in collaboration with the Institute of Occupational and Social Medicine at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, the Verband für Sicherheit, Gesundheit und Umweltschutz bei der Arbeit (VDSI), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Arbeitsmedizin und Umweltmedizin (DGAUM) and the University Medical Center Mainz.

Preparing to spend time abroad

There are many different organisations and service providers in Germany that offer courses to prepare travellers to specific regions or for specific levels of risk. The following institutions might be good places to start:

Course programme at the Academy for International Cooperation (GIZ Academy for International Cooperation)
Academy of Crisis Management, Emergency Planning and Civil Protection (AKNZ) ‘how to respond in crises and catastrophes: behaviours for highly dangerous situations’ The AKNZ is run by the Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance, and is the key institution for civil protection training for the Federal Government. It offers courses aimed at policymakers and multipliers at all levels of administrative bodies.
United Nations Training Centre Hammelburg

The BSAFE course programme from the United Nations Department of Safety and Security offers an overview of travel risk management and how to act in a crisis. Registration is free, after which users can take the following courses:

BSAFE (Basic Security in the Field & Advanced Security in the Field)
Information Security Awareness – Foundational
Information Security Awareness – Advanced
Information Security Awareness – Additional
Preparing and Responding to Active Shooter Incidents

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KIWi: The Centre for International Academic Collaboration of the DAAD

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Advice and contact

Country-specific generalisations are not helpful. The "red lines" of academic cooperation need to be constantly re-explored. Static "one size fits all" approaches are not suitable for acting and reacting in very specific contexts. Against this backdrop, KIWi provides support in establishing an individual risk and opportunity appraisal.

Dr Kai Sicks, Secretary General of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)

Please feel free to contact us with any questions and concerns you may have on risk and security management in international academic cooperations.

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