The purpose of the workshop is to present to Nations the concept for a Multinational Cooperation in C-IED. The goal is to provide an environment where the collective national resources and expertise in C-IED can be pooled to respond to the demanding requirements in this area by means of a project office consisting of NATO and partner nations. This concept has evolved over the past year based on discussions with Nations and NATO organizations and is positioned within the framework of the Allied Command Transformation (ACT) C-IED Action Plan and is in line with NC3A involvement in the C-IED Task Force activities. The aim of this workshop is to introduce the concepts for this proposal and to solicit feedback and additional input to further develop the concept and to agree the way ahead for the creation of a Multinational C-IED project.

This initiative aims to facilitate a response to the NATO Secretary General recent statement encouraging the pursuance of collaborative and multinational projects wherever possible by offering the nations the experience that NC3A has gained both in the execution of current Multinational Projects and during the development, delivery and support of C-IED capabilities in ISAF. The MN C-IED programme will also provide Nations with a workspace to enable cooperation in the delivery of coherent and sustainable C-IED activities based on the collective expertise and resources of the programme participants. The NC3A proposes to act as the executive agency in this programme, where it can apply the knowledge gained from research & development and technology field testing, coupled with well established procurement processes for C-IED capabilities to affect a successful response to individual Nations needs and allow economies of scale to be realised.

During the MN C-IED workshop Nations will be presented with a Letter of Interest, which has no financial implications but will provide NC3A with an understanding of which Nations would like to be involved in the follow-on activities. A subsequent workshop will be held to finalise the scope of the project and establish terms and conditions for the legal framework.