A joint Order of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, the Administration of the State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine, and the Security Service of Ukraine has approved the Methodology and Specific Features for Conducting State Attestation in the "Security" Research Area.

The documents approved by the Order establish unified rules for submitting information on scientific and scientific-technical activities in the field of security and defence, as well as the procedure for their evaluation. The state attestation process will commence following the official publication by the Ministry of Education and Science of the relevant Announcement in accordance with the established procedure. More than 40 research institutions and higher education institutions are expected to submit information materials.

The "Security" research area is the last of the seven research areas covered by the state attestation process. During 2024–2025, state attestation was already completed for the following research areas: Agricultural and Veterinary, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Engineering and Technology, Biomedical, and Humanities and Arts.

The attestation will apply to research institutions, higher military educational institutions, higher education institutions with specific learning conditions, as well as individual research areas and structural units of universities conducting research in the fields of security and defence.

Due to the specific nature of research in the fields of security and defence, a dedicated methodology has been developed and agreed upon for this research area. It takes into account that certain research results, developments, and information cannot be publicly disclosed because they are subject to restricted access.

During the attestation process, participants will be able to submit materials containing official-use-only or classified information. A dedicated procedure has been established for processing such materials, and experts with the appropriate security clearance will be involved in their evaluation.

The methodology also takes into consideration the operation of institutions under the conditions of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. When assessing performance, evaluators will consider factors such as whether an institution is located in a region affected by hostilities, whether it has been relocated, and whether its research infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed.

The attestation will assess:

• the human resources and research capacity of the institution or higher education establishment;
• scientific and scientific-technical results;
• development and implementation of innovations;
• patents and other intellectual property assets;
• participation in national and international research projects;
• externally attracted funding;
• the impact of research outcomes on security, defence capability, the economy, and society.

The evaluation process will combine quantitative indicators with expert assessment, with expert evaluation carrying greater weight than in the attestation procedures for civilian research areas. Based on the results, research institutions and research areas within higher education institutions will be assigned to one of four categories: Group A, Group B, Group C, or Not Attested.

The Ministry of Education and Science is currently finalising the reporting forms that participants will use to submit information for evaluation. These forms, together with detailed guidance, will be published shortly alongside the official Announcement, after which the preparation and submission phase will begin.

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