Institute for Strategic Dialogue
Budget
€6,815,500
EP Access
0
accredited persons
Staff
5
1.7 FTE
EU Grants
€1,446,500
Mission & Goals
The Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) is an independent ‘think and do’ tank that studies and develops policy and operational responses to the hybridised threats of extremism, weaponised hate and information operations. Combining research and analysis with policy advisory, training, capacity building and educational programmes, ISD is at the forefront of forging real-world, evidence-based responses to these challenges. Since its formation, ISD has been at the forefront of solutions that combat extremism, weaponised hate and information operations. At a time when these pose immediate threats to safety, security and democratic civil culture and institutions, ISD is working to enable individuals, organisations and communities to turn the tide against these threats.
EU Legislative Interests
Digital Services Act ISD has submitted several consultations regarding the Digital Services Act (DSA), including submissions in Jan 2024 on the “Digital Services Act Transparency Reports (Detailed Rules and Templates)” and on “Guidelines for Providers of Very Large Online Platforms and Very Large Online Search Engines on the Mitigation of Systemic Risks for Electoral Processes” in Mar 2024. ISD submitted input to the consultation on “Delegated Regulation on data access provided for in the Digital Services Act” in Nov 2024. ISD has analysed the application of the DSA on online gaming services and platforms, as well as online private messaging providers. These submissions build on the expertise ISD has built on these topics based on multistakeholder working group discussions, policy analysis, and our own public reports on the topics. In addition to these consultations, ISD has been involved in the monitoring of DSA implementation and compliance in collaboration with other civil society groups. ISD is part of a consortium that has delivered a digital research project for DG Connect (EC-CNECT/2024/OP/0007) to assess selected VLOPs’ compliance with the DSA across eight EU languages and three key risk areas: mitigating systemic risks to the dissemination of illegal content (terrorism and hate speech), civic discourse and electoral integrity. The consortium is led by ISD UK’s sister organisation, ISD Germany, and provided DG Connect with nine monthly and four ad-hoc research reports, and a final report in May 2025. This work continues through the project EC-CNECT/2024/OP/0052 until 2027, with ISD and ISD Germany are part of that consortia. In June 2024, ISD officially became a member of the European Union Internet Forum (EUIF) to support its’ work to address the misuse of the internet for terrorist purposes. In relation to the Code of Practice on Disinformation, and the Code of conduct on countering illegal hate speech online, ISD continues to research and publish public reports on foreign and domestic information manipulation and interference and a range of different forms of hate speech. ISD has also collaborated with civil society organisations on the development of structural indicators for the evaluation of the Code of Practice. ISD has also been collaborating with civil society organisations for the development of recommendations for the enforcement of the Directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence, and the EU AI Act, on the topic of technology-facilitated gender-based violence. ISD’s sister organisation, ISD Germany, is conducting independent research on the nature, scale and scope of online gender-based violence on TikTok, in relation to DSA compliance. Mis- and disinformation relating to climate change, climate science and climate policy ISD regularly briefs into Directorates across the EC to build awareness and advise on effective mitigation approaches to climate disinformation. This includes sharing evidence on the evolving threat landscape to DG-CLIMA, DG-CNECT, EEAS, DG-COMM and the Joint Research Council (JRC), and presenting at events open to all Commission staff via the EULearn portal. As a result of this engagement, recommendations for addressing mis- and disinformation were included in an official communication on managing climate risks in March 2024. Informally, we are supporting the Commission to assess how such issues fit within existing legislation, specifically enforcement of the Digital Services Act and Strengthened Code of Practice on Disinformation; our wider coalition (CAAD) has also produced reports exploring VLOPSEs response to said legislation through the lens of climate issues. In February 2023, ISD testified before the European Parliament’s Special Committee on foreign interference in all democratic processes in the European Union, including disinformation (ING2), and has since briefed MEPs from the Greens/EFA coalition and the Committee of the Regions (CoR).
Communication Activities
ISD conducts extensive research and policy analysis on election mitigation measures, online safety on online gaming platforms and services, and on foreign and domestic information manipulation and interference. Relevant recent publications are included below, but please see www.isdglobal.org for a complete list: https://www.isdglobal.org/isd-publications/dpl-safeguarding-elections-in-the-digital-age-assessing-evolving-electoral-risks-and-their-mitigation-for-online-electoral-integrity/ https://www.isdglobal.org/isd-publications/online-safety-and-the-regulation-of-gaming-platforms-and-services/ https://www.isdglobal.org/isd-publications/narratives-of-hate-post-7-october-antisemitism-and-anti-muslim-hate-on-social-media/ https://www.isdglobal.org/isd-publications/the-russian-propaganda-nesting-doll-how-rt-is-layered-into-the-digital-information-environment/ https://www.isdglobal.org/isd-publications/vilify-ridicule-disinform-political-communication-and-media-trust-in-the-age-of-generative-ai/ https://www.isdglobal.org/isd-publications/terrorism-extremism-disinformation-and-artificial-intelligence-a-primer-for-policy-practitioners/ https://www.isdglobal.org/isd-publications/addressing-illegal-harms-on-small-and-emerging-platforms-regulatory-challenges-and-gaps/ https://www.isdglobal.org/isd-publications/online-safety-regulation-private-online-communications-the-state-of-play-and-ways-ahead-for-addressing-terrorism-extremism-hate-and-disinformation/
Interests Represented
Does not represent commercial interests
Member Of
ISD is not a member of any associations, confederations, networks or other bodies. ISD has sister organisations (ISD Germany, ISD Francem, ISD-US and ISD Jordan) but these are not officially federated organisations.
Organisation Members
Partner/ sister organisations: ISD Germany - www.isd-germany.org/isd-germany/ ISD-US, ISD Jordan and ISD France - www.isdglobal.org Other partners are listed here: https://www.isdglobal.org/partnerships-and-funders/
Commissioner Meetings
No recorded meetings with EU commissioners.