The Industry and Innovation Expert will act as a strategic advisor on defence-industrial development, innovation ecosystems, business-environment reform and implementation of the National Defence Industry Strategy. The Expert will work in close coordination with the Key Expert, Defence Expert and Cyprus Law Expert, under the overall direction of the Project Manager, to ensure coherence between the strategic, industrial, innovation, procurement, regulatory and capacity-building dimensions of the project.

The role will focus on:

- Translating the validated strategic orientations into realistic industrial-development and innovation measures.

- Supporting the identification of priority sectors, technological niches, value-chain opportunities and industrial capabilities relevant to Cyprus.

- Designing practical instruments to stimulate investment, innovation, competitiveness, exports, EU value-chain integration and public–private cooperation.

- Ensuring that regulatory, procurement and financing proposals are workable for industry and consistent with EU requirements.

- Supporting the conversion of the strategy into an implementable Action Plan, monitoring framework and capacity-building programme.

- Providing evidence-based advice to CYMOD and other relevant stakeholders and facilitating structured dialogue between public authorities, industry, research organisations and investors.

Activity 1: Industrial and innovation contribution to the Draft Defence Industry Strategy — Output 4

The Industry and Innovation Expert will:

- Review the completed Output 2 evidence base, the validated TO-BE scenario and the Output 3 M&E framework, focusing on their implications for industrial development, innovation, procurement, value-chain integration and implementation.

- Contribute to the identification and prioritisation of sectors, technologies, industrial capabilities and value-chain positions that are realistic and strategically relevant for Cyprus.

- Advise on the industrial implications of the selected B-centred hybrid pathway, including niche specialisation, EU value-chain integration, dual-use foundations, test and certification capacity, demand creation and future industrial optionality.

- Contribute to the Sector Identification Report, including selection criteria, capability assessment, market and demand considerations, technological maturity, producibility, export potential and EU partner demand.

- Contribute to the development of the governance model and institutional arrangements required to steer defence-industrial and innovation policy.

- Propose practical industrial-policy instruments covering innovation support, strategic procurement, supplier development, investment attraction, cluster or ecosystem governance, access to finance and export promotion.

- Advise on the operational implications of EU defence-industrial programmes and collaborative instruments, including EDF and related routes, for Cypriot entities and public authorities.

- Contribute to the Procurement Policy Document, ensuring that proposed measures create realistic demand signals, support SMEs and innovation, facilitate European cooperation and remain compliant with applicable rules.

- Contribute to the DTIB Preservation Plan from the perspective of industrial resilience, critical capabilities, supply-chain dependencies, workforce, production depth, technology retention and industrial growth.

- Contribute to the Gap Analysis Report, identifying the institutional, industrial, innovation, financing, skills, procurement and infrastructure gaps that must be addressed.

- Participate in expert consultations, validation meetings and any strategy-related workshops with CYMOD, industry, research organisations and other stakeholders.

Deliverable: substantive industrial and innovation contributions to the Draft Defence Industry Strategy and its supporting documents, including the Sector Identification Report, Procurement Policy Document, DTIB Preservation Plan and Gap Analysis Report.

Activity 2: Industrial and innovation contribution to the high-level strategy event — Output 4

The Industry and Innovation Expert will:

- Contribute to the preparation of the high-level event accompanying the draft strategy.

- Prepare or review presentation material concerning industrial development, innovation, procurement, investment, EU value-chain integration and implementation priorities.

- Support technical preparation and stakeholder engagement with industry, research organisations, public authorities and potential partners.

- Participate in the event and contribute to the preparation of the event outcomes report, where relevant.

Deliverable: contributions to event preparation, participation and event outcomes documentation.

Activity 3: Action Plan methodology and implementation roadmap — Output 5

The Industry and Innovation Expert will:

- Contribute to the validation of the Action Plan methodology with relevant partners, operators, EU stakeholders and DTIB representatives.

- Translate the industrial and innovation priorities of Output 4 into a structured, phased Action Plan covering immediate, medium-term and longer-term measures.

- Update the compendium of activities with industrial-policy, innovation, procurement, investment, export, EU-cooperation, skills and capability-building measures.

- Define the roles and responsibilities of CYMOD, other ministries, agencies, industry associations, research organisations, innovation centres and external partners.

- Propose sequencing, dependencies, milestones, implementation conditions and resource or financing considerations for industrial and innovation measures.

- Ensure traceability between the actions, the KRAs and KPIs agreed under Output 3, including owners, target periods, data requirements and review arrangements.

- Contribute to the design and facilitation of Action Plan structuring workshops and consultations.

- Contribute to the development of the three-year Action Plan and its implementation schedule.

- Advise on the monitoring and review of Action Plan implementation, including industrial and innovation performance, procurement delivery, support-mechanism effectiveness, investment, exports, EU participation and value-chain integration.

Deliverable: industrial and innovation components of the Action Plan, including sequenced measures, implementation responsibilities, milestones, KPIs and monitoring arrangements.

Activity 4: Industrial and innovation input to the Regulatory Framework and Financing Architecture — Output 6

The Industry and Innovation Expert will work with the Defence Expert and Cyprus Law Expert to:

- Identify the industrial and innovation requirements that the regulatory framework must support.

- Review the proposed defence-industry regulatory framework from the perspective of investment, business operations, innovation, procurement, compliance and competitiveness.

- Contribute to the improvement of the national register approach, including the information needed to support industrial-policy monitoring, supplier development, procurement planning and access to support.

- Contribute to the monitoring and control framework for local production, ensuring that oversight is proportionate, implementable and compatible with industrial development.

- Provide industry-relevant input to export-control and international-cooperation frameworks, balancing security requirements, compliance, market access and business facilitation.

- Contribute to the framework for international cooperation in defence-industrial development, including supplier qualification, joint projects, EU programmes, shared infrastructure and bilateral cooperation.

- Contribute to the financing-mechanisms component, including direct investment, grants, subsidies, guarantees, co-financing, venture or investment instruments and support for innovation and industrial scaling.

- Assess proposed support instruments against EU state-aid, competition, proportionality, additionality and market-effect considerations, in coordination with the legal experts.

- Identify regulatory or administrative barriers affecting start-ups, SMEs, research organisations, investors, exporters and non-traditional suppliers.

- Prepare concise policy notes or technical inputs on industrial and innovation aspects of regulatory design and financing mechanisms.

Deliverable: industrial and innovation inputs integrated into the Output 6 Technical Note, including specific contributions to the financing-mechanisms component and other relevant regulatory proposals.

Activity 5: Capacity-building, training and stakeholder engagement — Output 7

The Industry and Innovation Expert will:

- Contribute to the identification of thematic areas for the capacity-building programme, including industrial-policy governance, innovation support, EU defence programmes, procurement, investment, exports, supplier development, systems engineering, product assurance and industry–government cooperation.

- Contribute to the design of the capacity-building programme and the capstone workshop.

- Develop training material, case studies, practical examples and tools on defence-industrial and innovation policy in practice.

- Include relevant examples of national defence-industrial strategies, defence R&T governance, EU programme participation, innovation accelerators, supplier qualification, product assurance and industrial-support mechanisms.

- Support the delivery of training sessions for CYMOD, relevant ministries, research organisations and industry stakeholders.

- Co-deliver or support the capstone workshop on the practical implementation of the Defence Industry Strategy.

- Provide coaching to public stakeholders on industry engagement, innovation support, procurement–industry dialogue, investment attraction, EU project development and change management.

- Support the establishment or improvement of structured dialogue mechanisms, including an industry advisory function, cluster governance or other public–private coordination arrangements.

Deliverable: contributions to the Capacity-Building Programme, training materials, supporting case studies, delivery of training and contribution to the capstone workshop.

Activity 6: Cross-cutting coordination and quality assurance

The Industry and Innovation Expert will:

- Maintain close coordination with the Key Expert, Defence Expert, Cyprus Law Expert, Project Manager and relevant CYMOD counterparts.

- Ensure that industrial, innovation, procurement, financing, regulatory and capacity-building recommendations are mutually consistent across Outputs 4–7.

- Participate in project meetings, technical reviews, workshops and consultations as required.

- Review relevant draft outputs and provide comments on industrial feasibility, innovation potential, implementation practicality, EU alignment and stakeholder ownership.

- Ensure that recommendations distinguish between immediate, reversible measures and longer-term measures requiring institutional, financial or legal commitments.

- Support the preparation of concise briefings, presentations, decision notes and responses to comments from CYMOD, SG REFORM, the European Commission and other stakeholders.

Deliverable: cross-cutting expert inputs, review comments, briefings and coordination support contributing to the quality and coherence of Outputs 4–7.