Security challenges in public spaces have increasingly been addressed through co-creation and social innovation approaches, aiming for smart cities and technologically supported solutions. However, despite their growing adoption, many co-created security initiatives struggle to endure beyond pilot phases, as funding ends or stakeholder engagement declines. If sustainability is not addressed, co-creation risks becoming an end rather than a pathway to long-term security and societal resilience. This challenge raises a broader and timely question about the sustainability of participatory and evidence-based approaches to smart security of public spaces. Building on the CO-SECUR project, which combines analytical research, capacity-building and interdisciplinary collaboration in the field of Social Innovation in Security (SIS), this workshop uses the Societal Development Plan (SDP) as a concrete example to explore wider sustainability
challenges by addressing a fundamental question: what happens after co-creation ends? Rather than focusing exclusively on SDPs, the workshop opens a broader discussion on how co-created strategies, tools and policies in smart security can achieve long-term and systemic impact. The workshop brings together researchers, policymakers, practitioners and civil society actors to reflect on governance arrangements, evidence use, stakeholder ownership and capacity-building mechanisms that support continuity and scalability. Through short contributions and interactive sessions, participants will co-develop transferable insights and actionable recommendations to strengthen the sustainability of co-created security initiatives beyond individual projects or contexts.

Submission Deadline: 20 February 2026

Notification Deadline: 1 March 2026

Camera Ready Deadline: 15 March 2026