The CIMIC Centre of Excellence

formerley NATO CIMIC GROUP NORTH

In 2001 CIMIC (Civil- Military Co-operation) Group North HQ (CGN HQ), was founded. By establishing an operational CIMIC HQ the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, The Netherlands, Norway and Poland followed a direct political requirement from the North Atlantic Council concerning the establishment of a dedicated capacity for Civil-Military Co-operation. The events in the Balkans, which clearly showed the necessity for such units, triggered NATO�s request. The entire Group consisted of a deployable HQ with dedicated CIMIC units and functional specialists assigned from the nations. The Group was intended to function as a Theatre-Wide multinational CIMIC unit to be used primarily in international operations, including in NATO Collective Defence Operations. In 2003 the Group was formally activated in this function.

Later it became clear, that the operational use of the unit in a multinational context was not likely due to the changed operational environment of modern crisis response operations. It paved the way for a shift of its role into a CCOE (Civil- Military Co-operation Centre of Excellence). This appeared to be a unique opportunity, because CGN HQ already had gained a lot of essential experience for such a CCOE by conducting CIMIC courses and serving as an essential forum for CIMIC issues and consultations since 2002. This theoretical expertise was complemented by participation of the CGN HQ personnel in several CIMIC missions, such as ISAF.

Allied Command Transformation (ACT) and Allied Command Operations (ACO) stated their willingness to support this process, and in November 2004, the Sponsoring Nations took the initial decision to start the transformation of the HQ.

Recently, in November 2005, the final decision on a concept for a CCOE was made by 5  of the 6 Sponsoring Nations and ACT/ACO. The decision marks the start of a formalised accreditation procedure, which includes the provision of NATO Military Committee/North Atlantic Council (MC/NAC) approval, and invites other NATO nations to participate as Sponsoring Nations or other at levels of involvement.

Although the CCOE will be accredited as a NATO Centre of Excellence, its capacity and experience is also available to other international organizations like the European Union, Non Governmental Organizations and scientific institutions. The centre is financed and controlled by the sponsoring nations and is not part of the NATO command structure.