(9 Sep 2024)
The Rabdan Security and Defence Institute (RSDI) is zeroing in on emerging threats with a particular focus on geopolitics, human security & conflict, regional security cooperation, at the same time developing niches on defence technology and civil military relations. In an interview with Aletihad, interim manager Dr. Wan Zokhri Idris at RSDI outlined their agenda for 2025.
"For 2025 and 2026, we will concentrate on threat assessment, geopolitical risks, human security conflicts, and regional security cooperation, while on the defence front, we will address civil-military relations, defence industry trends, and innovations."
Dr. Idris highlighted the importance of addressing emerging needs like threat assessment and geopolitics, with a particular focus on defence technology and civil-military relations.
In regard to cybersecurity, "at the institutional level, there is a pressing need to master cybersecurity. We are building talent within RSDI to understand these trends, and being part of Rabdan Academy enhances our ability to address them effectively," he added.
He stressed that collaboration is key to executing projects, noting, "we need to identify stakeholders relating to security and defence domains and work with them to foster collaboration. We need to bring together international and industrial players in the safety, security and defence fields."
Dr. Idris explained that their grand plan is to build an interactive assessment on security issues through data gathering and heat map design, with plans to continue this focus beyond 2025.
Discussing their future plans, Dr. Idris drew attention to their goal to build research output based on heat map design.
"A heat map design displays data with stable outputs on the y and x axes, providing an interactive presentation of research outputs through dynamic visuals rather than just text or complex graphs."
As for championing asymmetric threats assessments, he said the first innovative solution is to broaden the pool of experts and practitioners in the country's security and defence. This includes military personnel, emergency responders, and first aiders.
The second innovative solution is to democratise their research project by presenting data output through heat maps and promoting it to media practitioners, business communities, and ordinary citizens.
He also said that their strategic communication efforts aim to collaborate with media for clear public understanding of outputs. This goes side by side with ongoing stakeholders engagement, both internal and external.
Regarding stakeholders mapping, Dr. Idris said: "We regard all stakeholders as important partners, at the same time we also want to be important to them. This helps us prioritise their significance in our engagements and understand which stakeholders are crucial for our initiatives."
He discussed RSDI benchmarking efforts to expand its influence in policy making, stating: "Benchmarking involves comparing our strategies with other think tanks in the UAE and globally to learn and adopt suitable strategies."
Elaborating on their collaborations, Dr. Idris said: “Currently, we share our partnership with various high-learning institutions and organisations. Since our launch in May, we have secured a MoU with the Middle Eastern Institute (MEI), a US-based think tank focuses on the MENA region. By 2025, we aim to transform this partnership into tangible projects. We are also seeking new partnerships in Africa and Southeast Asia, planning to build a comprehensive database of think tanks and institutions to foster further collaborations. For now, MEI is our official partner in the US.”
On crisis management, Dr. Idris underlined their shift towards prevention rather than reaction, stressing the need to include various aspects of business continuity and humanitarian efforts.
"Our approach will focus on early prevention and diversifying the players and enablers involved in crisis management."
"We are currently finalising our expansion plans for 2025. Our main focus will be to expand the team and cultivate a high-performing work culture at RSDI. This will enhance our ability to produce high-quality outputs that meet the needs of both the region and the nation. In short, team expansion and structural development are key priorities."
He added that RSDI plans to establish four short-term strategies: forming partnerships with other think tanks within the UAE as well as beyond the GCC region, organising an international conference on regional defence and security outlook — an initiative not yet undertaken by other think tanks in the UAE — supporting smaller seminars and roundtables, and enhancing visibility through media engagement to showcase their value and products.
"We are planning to create our own database so that we can present it using the heat map approach and project our heat map publications," Dr. Idris said.
