VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland is the first Finnish organization to be approved by the NATO Communications and Information (NCI) Agency as its research partner within the Not-For-Profit Framework (NFPF). The agreement, signed on 25 October 2023, provides VTT the opportunity to participate in NATO’s research projects.
The NCI Agency is responsible for this arrangement, which creates a framework for NATO's cooperation with academy and research institutes, defence laboratories, and other non-profit organizations. The cooperation complements the Agency's cooperation with industry partners. With the help of the arrangement, NCIA aims to enhance its research activities, speed up its projects and bring new special expertise to the agency's use.
“The agreement shows that NCI Agency values VTT's expertise. For us, this agreement means the opportunity to get involved in NCI Agency 's research projects, which concern a wide scope of demanding topics and technologies. This approach resonates well with VTT’s research focus on many high-tech areas. Our goal is a long-term cooperation with NATO", says Sauli Eloranta, Vice President of VTT's Safe and connected society research area.
“Just like the NCI Agency, VTT has a long history of tackling some of the toughest challenges in Information and Communication Technology, Space, Data and Defence. Adding VTT to our growing list of not-for-profit partners will make the Alliance both stronger and smarter”, stated NCI Agency General Manager Ludwig Decamps.
NATO is continuously exploring the use of new technologies. Cooperation in research expands VTT’s understanding of these disrupting technologies and helps VTT to create new networks with NATO’s experts.
The framework agreement between VTT and NCIA is valid for a period of five years. In addition to VTT, NCIA's Not-For-Profit Framework includes 10 organisations from different NATO nations.
