SHIELD Project

What SHIELD Project does

SHIELD (Solutions to Enhance Interfaith Protection of Places of Worship from Terrorist Danger) is a 27-month European Union research and innovation project (January 2022 – April 2024) funded under the Internal Security Fund – Police (ISFP-2020 Programme, grant agreement No. 101034229) and coordinated by SYNYO GmbH in Vienna, with Spin System ASBL in Brussels serving as the website's data processor. The consortium brings together 18 partners from 10 EU countries representing the three Abrahamic faiths, law enforcement agencies, municipalities, and security researchers to improve coordination, cooperation, and communication around the protection of places of worship from violent extremism.

The project's core deliverables are the SHIELD Handbook ("Protecting Places of Worship from Violence and Terrorist Danger: A Quick Guide for Local Stakeholders and Practitioners"), the Vulnerability Assessment Tool Checklist (VAC) — a quantitative methodology paired with an Excel-based risk-scoring matrix that enables worship-site operators to self-assess vulnerability — and three faith-specific simulation videos (Christianity, Judaism, Islam) used for training and awareness-raising. Distribution is multilateral: a self-serve digital download portal in 9 languages (Italian, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish, Romanian, Polish, Hungarian, Arabic), a newsletter series via MailerLite, LinkedIn and X channels, and an active program of workshops, training sessions, and international conferences culminating in the Brussels Final Conference on February 28, 2024.

SHIELD is a publicly funded, non-commercial entity. All deliverables are provided free of charge; the project operates on a single EU grant rather than recurring revenue, has approximately 7 staff within SYNYO's coordination footprint, and does not pursue product commercialization. The business model is best characterized as policy-influencing public-good delivery under the European P/CVE framework, with engagement metrics (e.g., 50+ attendees at the Bavaria training, 40 stakeholders at the December 2023 validation workshop) serving as the primary evidence of reach rather than commercial KPIs.

Name

SHIELD Project

Legal name

SHIELD Project (coordinated by SYNYO GmbH)

Website

https://shieldproject.eu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

SHIELD is an EU-funded research project (Internal Security Fund – Police, Jan 2022–Apr 2024) coordinating 18 partners across 10 countries to deliver a handbook, vulnerability assessment tool, and simulation videos that help religious communities, law enforcement, and municipalities protect places of worship from terrorism.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Counter-Terrorism and Public Safety Research

NAICS

Investigation, Guard, and Armored Car Services (56161), Investigation and Security Services (5616)

SIC

Services-Detective, Guard & Armored Car Services (7381)

akta.pro primary industry

Manned Guarding & Site Security (Static Guards) (BPABAMAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Breach & Attack Simulation (BAS) (HDADAHAD), Protection Services (GBV, Child Protection, Legal Aid) (BPADADAH)

Keywords

• Places of worship protection
• Vulnerability assessment
• Counter-terrorism research
• Interfaith security coordination
• Preventing violent extremism

Headquarters

HQ city

Vienna

HQ country

Austria

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. EU Grant Funding: The SHIELD project is funded by the European Union's Internal Security Fund – Police (ISFP) under grant agreement No. 101034229. This is a 27-month research and innovation project that does not generate commercial revenue but rather distributes deliverables, tools, and knowledge to protect places of worship.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

SHIELD is an EU-funded research and innovation project that produces methodologies, tools, and knowledge assets for protecting places of worship from terrorist attacks. Its deliverables include the SHIELD Handbook (a multilingual practitioner's guide), the Vulnerability Assessment Tool Checklist (VAC) for self-assessment of religious sites, and three simulation videos depicting attack scenarios across Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, all distributed free of charge to religious communities, law enforcement, and municipalities.

Product overview

The SHIELD Project is a European Union-funded initiative that offers a suite of products and tools for protecting places of worship from terrorist attacks and violent extremism. The core offering consists of the SHIELD Handbook (a comprehensive guide for practitioners), the Vulnerability Assessment Tool Checklist (VAC) for conducting risk assessments, and Simulation Videos for training purposes. These products work together to enhance security coordination between law enforcement agencies, public authorities, faith leadership, and congregations across the EU.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SHIELD Handbook A comprehensive quick guide for local stakeholders, religious community leaders, decision makers, and law enforcement agencies on protecting places of worship from violence and terrorist danger, aligned with European P/CVE policies.
• Vulnerability Assessment Tool Checklist (VAC) A practical quantitative methodology and tool for places of worship to self-assess their vulnerability to terrorist attacks, including methodology explanation, the VAC document, and an Excel matrix to calculate risk assessment scores.
• SHIELD Simulation Videos Three simulation videos depicting potential attack scenarios on places of worship across the three Abrahamic faiths (Christianity, Judaism, Islam), designed for training, awareness raising, and validation purposes with religious and security stakeholders.

Quantifiable outcome

• 40 stakeholders participated in evaluation and validation workshop (December 2023)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• ProSPeReSminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 November 2023Sister project aimed at increasing protection in places of worship while maintaining balance between security and openness. SHIELD presented at ProSPeReS Final Conference in Łódź, Poland.
• SOARminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 November 2023Sister project on 'Strengthening the security and resilience of at-risk religious sites and communities.' Listed as related project on SHIELD's external resources page.
• SHRINESminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 November 2023Sister project establishing a European network for safety and security management in places of worship. Panellists from SHRINES participated in SHIELD Final Conference.
• PROTECTORminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 November 2023Sister project supported by G20 Inter Faith Forum and UNICRI for next-generation integrated measures to enhance protection of places of worship. Listed as related project.
• PARTESminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 November 2023Sister project proposing a comprehensive prevention model for protection of places of worship that is evidence-based, inclusive, and participatory.
• SASCEminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 November 2023Multi-layered project for security in and around places of worship and within Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, and Jewish communities. Listed as related project.
• PACTESURminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 November 2023EU project developing vulnerability self-assessment and technology assessment tools for public spaces protection. 3D reality simulation presented at SHIELD workshops.
• UNCOVERminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2023Project developing innovative technologies for detecting hidden information (steganalysis) for law enforcement agencies. Listed as partner project.
• Zanasi & PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 May 2023Italian security consultancy leading Work Package 2 on analysis of critical points, activities, and risks. Presented research on past terrorist attacks and vulnerability assessment methodologies.
• Municipality of BarreirominorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 May 2023Portuguese municipality partner presenting on water security planning for protection of places of worship, linking safety planning with SHIELD project objectives.
• University of Applied Sciences for Public Service in Bavaria – Department of PolicingcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 May 2023Leading Work Package 4 on prevention and awareness raising. Hosted training sessions for law enforcement and religious community representatives on protection of places of worship.
• University of Jewish Studies (BUJS) / Federation of Hungarian Jewish Communities (Mazsihisz)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2022Dr. Gábor Werner represented the Jewish community perspective, presenting on principles of effective protection for places of worship and representing SHIELD at ProSPeReS Final Conference.
• Europe Islamic Association (EIA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2022Massimo Abdellah Cozzolino, Chairman of EIA, contributed extensively to SHIELD's work on Muslim community protection, presenting at multiple conferences and workshops.
• Europe Islamic AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2022Contributed to first workshop in Rome and international conference in Cyprus on protecting religious heritage through multisectoral collaboration.
• NOTIONESminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2022European ecosystem of security and intelligence practitioners. Presented at SHIELD's first workshop on new technologies for combating terrorism against places of worship.
• PROSECUWminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 April 2022Sister EU-funded project focused on enhancing protection at places of worship. SHIELD participated in PROSECUW's final conference in Nicosia, Cyprus (April 2023).
• SYNYO GmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022SYNYO GmbH (Vienna, Austria) serves as the project coordinator and Data Controller for the SHIELD project. They are responsible for overall project management, coordination of consortium activities, and ensuring GDPR compliance.
• Spin System ASBLcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2022Spin System ASBL (Brussels, Belgium) serves as the Data Processor and technical operator of the SHIELD website, managing the technical infrastructure supporting project communications and dissemination.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• PARTES: EU-funded sister project proposing an evidence-based, inclusive, and participatory prevention model for protection of places of worship. Comparable as a peer methodology-development project in the same EU P/CVE funding stream.
• PACTESUR: EU project developing vulnerability self-assessment and technology assessment tools for public-space protection. Comparable because it shares SHIELD's self-assessment methodology paradigm and presented a 3D reality simulation at SHIELD workshops.
• PROSECUW: EU-funded sister project focused on enhancing protection at places of worship. Directly comparable as a parallel Horizon/ISFP-funded initiative that produced similar stakeholder-engagement and protection-mitigation outputs, including a final conference hosted in Nicosia.
• ProSPeReS: EU-funded sister project aimed at increasing protection in places of worship while balancing security and openness. Comparable as a peer EU research consortium whose final conference in Łódź featured joint SHIELD presentations.
• PROTECTOR: EU-funded sister project supported by the G20 Inter Faith Forum and UNICRI for next-generation integrated measures to protect places of worship. Comparable as a multi-stakeholder worship-protection research initiative.
• NOTIONES: European ecosystem of security and intelligence practitioners that presented at SHIELD's first workshop on new technologies for combating terrorism against places of worship. Comparable for its security practitioner network and counter-terrorism technology focus.
• SHRINES: EU-funded sister project establishing a European network for safety and security management in places of worship. Comparable as a parallel inter-EU consortium that contributed panellists to SHIELD's final conference.
• SASCE: EU-funded multi-layered project for security in and around places of worship across Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, and Jewish communities. Comparable for its cross-faith worship-site security focus and consortium-based delivery model.
• SOAR: EU-funded project on 'Strengthening the security and resilience of at-risk religious sites and communities.' Comparable as a directly adjacent worship-site resilience research project.

Broad incumbents

• EUROPOL: EU law enforcement agency whose Terrorism Situation and Trend Report (TE-SAT) tracks attacks and threats across Europe. Comparable as a broader, established public-sector actor that both informs SHIELD's threat analysis and is the institutional counterpart for the methodology's adoption.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/EuShield
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/shield-project

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about SHIELD Project