Cyber Conflict Studies Association

This organizational effectiveness grant to the Cyber Conflict Studies Association (CCSA) will help enhance their strategic communications strategy, aimed particularly at updating their online presence, and allow for the creation of a fundraising plan for sustainability. The latter is of particular focus as they currently do not have an effective process for attracting and securing long-term funding.

The Cyber Conflict Studies Association (CCSA) is a nonprofit entity organized to promote and lead a diversified research and intellectual development agenda to advance knowledge in the cyber conflict field. CCSA is committed to developing academic programs and communities in the U.S. and abroad. The association (a) provides a venue for academic dialog and the study of economic, policy, and other strategic issues surrounding the threat of cyber conflict; (b) promotes enhanced discourse on the strategic implications of cyber conflict; (c) provides a resource for national security decision makers in the federal government; (d) provides cross-functional venues where cyber conflict issues can de discussed among professionals from academia, government, industry, etc.; (e) serves as a coordinating vehicle through which related organizations (including government organizations) may solicit dialog from the cross-functional members of the group; (f) provides an outlet for the publication of professional articles, position papers, and a journal; (g) helps to frame and promote national policy concerning all aspects of cyber conflict; and (h) cooperates with other organizations and institutions involved with other aspects of national security affairs to serve as a resource for them on cyber conflict issues.

A grant to the Cyber Conflict Studies Association would support the convening of a Conference on the State of the Field of Cyber Conflict Studies, in partnership with the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs. The conference will discuss cyber conflict as a field of research, identify the main topic areas of research, review the main questions in each of those topics, create a shared understanding of existing research on those questions, and identify the canonical works. It will also help bridge disciplines and sectors to establish the building blocks for a new generation of cyber conflict research questions and researchers to explore them.