About us
Welcome to the CIMIC Centre of Excellence
The CCOE is a multinational sponsored, NATO-accredited, Centre of Excellence. It provides added value, innovative and timely advice, and subject matter expertise on CIMIC for both civilian and military customers. The primary focuses of the organisation’s effort are in conceptual and doctrinal development, lessons learned along with enhanced training and education.
CCOE Mission Statement
The CCOE provides Subject Matter Expertise in NATO Civil-Military Cooperation (CIMIC) and Civil-Military Interaction (CMI) to support the transformational and operational requests of the NATO Command Structure, Sponsoring Nations, and other customers.
Who we are/What we do
On the 31st of July 2007, the CCOE was activated as a NATO accredited Centre of Excellence, now located in The Hague, Netherlands. The CCOE is the recognised asset to assure NATO Nations’ and Partners’ access to up-to-date knowledge and expertise in the field of CIMIC & CMI and to promote NATO’s role in the area of transformation and innovation to external audiences. The CCOE is NATO Department Head for CIMIC & CMI (including Civil Preparedness), and a NATO accredited Education & Training Facility. Based on the NATO-EU joint declarations regarding intensifying cooperation, the CCOE became the European Union Discipline Leader (EU DL) for CIMIC in 2017 and a member of the European Security Defence College in 2020. CCOE’s program of work, coordinated and consistent with NATO efforts, is guided by 1. Education and Training, 2. Lessons Learned and Analysis 3. Concept Development and Experimentation, and 4. Doctrine Development and Standards.
Vision
The CCOE acts as the recognised hub of knowledge and expertise in CIMIC & CMI and as a unique platform for cooperation and partnership. Therefore the CCOE is the preferred network campus to connect people, share collective knowledge and gain unity of purpose in the field of Civil-Military Cooperation and Civil-Military Interaction.
A nationally or multi-nationally sponsored entity, which offers recognised expertise and experiences to the benefit of the Alliance, especially in support of transformation. It provides opportunities to enhance education and training, to improve interoperability and capabilities, to assist in doctrine development and to test and validate concepts through experimentation.
The manning is ensured by the 6 Sponsoring Nations as follows (alphabetic order):
- Germany
- Hungary
- Italy
- Latvia
- The Netherlands
- Poland
In the manning, expansion is already accounted for with 13 posts for additional volunteering Sponsoring Nations in the CIC and T&E Branches.
Structure
The Concepts, Interoperability, Capabilities (CIC) Branch creates studies, analyses and advises regarding NATO CIMIC, contributes to the further development of NATO CIMIC policy and delivers Subject Matter Expertise (SME).
The Training & Education (T&E) Branch conducts courses and supports customers in the field of education and training.
The Lessons Learned & Analysis (LL&A) Branch; to learn efficiently from experience and to provide validated justifications for amending the existing way of doing things to improve performance.
The Support (SPT) Branch enables the other Branches to deliver their products and gives internal support.