On 9 January 2026 in Vilnius, the event “Last Mile to Innovation: From Challenges to Wins” brought together law enforcement, security practitioners, policymakers, researchers, and technology developers to address one of the most persistent challenges in EU security innovation: turning research results into operationally deployed solutions.

A key focus of the event was the presentation of European Anti-Cybercrime Technology Development Association (EACTDA) and its Tools4LEAs project.

During the event, Mr. Juan Arraiza, Executive Director of EACTDA, outlined the association’s role as an end-user-driven organization, dedicated to promoting the adoption of fully tested, operational-ready software tools for criminal investigations. The Lithuanian National Node, as part of the EACTDA ecosystem, highlighted recent initiatives and emphasized the importance of local coordination in bridging the gap between challenges faced by national LEAs, technological innovation and real-world implementation.

Open discussions facilitated by L3CE, emphasised that innovation uptake is not a single decision but a structured process involving legal readiness, infrastructure availability, skills development, funding alignment, and organisational change. Through Tools4LEAs v3, EACTDA continues to deliver it further, by continuously improving maturation of the tools, providing evaluation and demonstration platforms, and strengthening collaboration between end-users, research organisations, and industry.

The event confirmed once again the importance of National Nodes as long-term enablers of innovation operationalisation “on the ground”.

On 9 January 2026 in Vilnius, the event “Last Mile to Innovation: From Challenges to Wins” brought together law enforcement, security practitioners, RTOs’, and technology developers, municipalities to exchange best practices and share lessons learned from their experiences in implementing innovations within their organizations.

The CITADEL project was presented as a strategic enabler addressing one of the most pressing challenges in the security innovation ecosystem: access to funding. This is widely recognized as a key barrier for SMEs seeking to sustain innovation throughout the entire development journey from initial concept to full deployment.

The event also highlighted the importance of fostering closer collaboration between SMEs, innovators, and end users. Such partnerships are essential to ensure deeper engagement in the co-creation process, allowing innovations to effectively address current challenges and meet real-world user needs.

Open discussions during the event explored the specific obstacles that end users face when adopting new technologies, as well as strategies for how different stakeholders can work together to overcome these hurdles. The dialogue emphasized that strong cooperation across the ecosystem is critical for turning innovative ideas into practical, widely adopted solutions.

On 9 January 2026 in Vilnius, the event “Last Mile to Innovation: From Challenges to Wins” brought together law enforcement, security practitioners, RTOs’, and technology developers to address one of the most persistent challenges in EU security innovation: right-targeted innovation to solve real user problems. The LEAD-PRO project was presented as a concrete example of how innovation can successfully progress from an identified operational need to a deployable solution when law enforcement end-users are involved throughout the entire lifecycle. The presentation, delivered from a Lithuanian Police perspective, demonstrated how LEAD-PRO addresses real challenges in public security, disaster management, and mass-event coordination.

LEAD-PRO provides a unified operational platform supporting command and control, situational awareness, and inter-agency coordination by integrating data from cameras, drones, sensors, and mobile devices into a single operational picture.

The event presentation went beyond technology, focusing on lessons learned during the innovation uptake process: ensuring usability for non-technical personnel, integrating new tools into existing legal and procedural frameworks, aligning with IT and cybersecurity requirements, and preparing organisations through training and change management.

The LEAD-PRO case illustrated that even technically mature solutions may fail without attention to organisational readiness and integration, sustainability or maintenance aspects. By openly addressing these challenges, the project contributed valuable insights into what law enforcement agencies need to consider when operationalise innovative digital solutions. The discussion reinforced the importance of in advance planning, early engagement of key stakeholders, and continuous feedback loops between innovators and practitioners.

On 9 January 2026 in Vilnius, the event “Last Mile to Innovation: From Challenges to Wins” brought together law enforcement, security practitioners, RTOs’, and technology developers to address one of the most persistent challenges in EU security innovation: right-targeted innovation to solve real user problems.

During the event, L3CE presented its contribution within the HIPSTER project, introducing a next-generation AI-driven OSINT platform designed to support law enforcement and security practitioners in online investigations, hybrid-threat analysis, monitoring, and situational awareness. The presentation focused on moving beyond isolated analytical tools towards a coherent, ontology-driven architecture capable of supporting complex reasoning and structured threat assessment.

HIPSTER’s approach is built on the development of comprehensive risk-indicator ontologies, enabling the systematic identification, classification, and analysis of online signals related to disinformation, radicalisation, hybrid threats, and other high-risk activities. By combining modern AI models, including large language models, with formalised ontological structures, the platform aims to support analysts with explainable, traceable, and legally robust insights.

The presentation highlighted that the future of OSINT lies not in replacing human analysts, but in augmenting their capabilities through AI-supported analytical co-pilots. Emphasis was placed on modularity, scalability, and compliance-by-design, ensuring alignment with regulatory frameworks such as the AI Act and GDPR. HIPSTER is a forward-looking example of how newest AI advancement, rich risk indicators’ onthological frameworks and knowledge engineering can be combined to create operationally relevant and practical intelligence solution.

Date: Thursday, 20th November 2025
Where: In person at the University of Limerick, Ireland

Join us for the final conference of Project EAGLE (Covering the training gap in digital skills for European SMEs manpower), the  European project funded by the Digital Europe Programme. The project is delivered by a consortium of academic institutions, SME networks, and training organisations across Europe, including partners from Spain, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Ireland, Lithuania and Finland, all working together to bridge the digital skills gap for SMEs.  The theme of the conference is “Bridging the Digital Skills Gap: Empowering SMEs for the Future”

Target Audience:
SME owners and managers, industry professionals, educators, policy makers, Chambers of Commerce, Enterprise Ireland, Regional Skills Forums, and EU Digital Programme stakeholders.

Conference Highlights:

• Business Networking Breakfast with Workshop: “The Future of Work in Manufacturing: Skills that Matter”
• Conference Keynote by  Mr Tim Crowe, CEO of WorxFlo: “AI and Supply Chain Digitalisation: Practical Insights for SMEs”
• Panel Discussion:  “Collaborating for Digital Success”. This panel will explore how strategic partnerships between industry, academia, and training networks can drive meaningful digital transformation for SMEs
• Presentation of Project EAGLE outcomes and recommendations
• European and Local supports available for SMEs in 2026 and beyond
• Interactive sessions and networking opportunities

Full Schedule and Registration Link for Project Eagle Conference on Eventbrite: Registration Link

For more information, please contact:

Rhoda Sohun
Project Manager, EU Projects
Graduate and Professional Studies, University of Limerick
Rhoda.Sohun@ul.ie