Dear Muthalath Ahmar

I acknowledge receipt of your email received by this office on 9 September 2024

Your request will now be dealt with under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and has been allocated reference FOI24-317 which should be quoted in all correspondence. We will respond to your request within 20 working days starting the next working day after receipt, therefore you can expect to receive a response no later than 7 October 2024.

In some circumstances a fee may be payable and, if that is the case, we will let you know. A fees notice will be issued to you, and you will be required to pay before we will proceed to deal with your request.

Finally, should you require the disclosure in an alternative format, e.g. screen reader accessible, large print etc, please let us know as soon as possible.

Yours sincerely

Swyddfa Ysgrifenydd y Brifysgol
Prifysgol Caerdydd
Ebost : [email address]

Mae'r Brifysgol yn croesawu gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg neu'n Saesneg. Ni fydd gohebu yn Gymraeg yn creu unrhwy oedi. University Secretary's Office
Cardiff University
Email: [email address]

The University welcomes correspondence in Welsh or English. Corresponding in Welsh will not lead to any delay.

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Dear Muthalath Ahmar

I am writing in response to your Freedom of Information request dated 9
September 2024

For ease of reference, I have reproduced your questions below and set out
our corresponding responses.

Does the university have any joint initiatives or research projects with
arms and defence companies?

-       This includes, but is not limited to, companies such as Airbus,
Babcock International, BAE Systems, Boeing, Chemring, Elbit Systems,
General Dynamics, General Electric, Honeywell, Huntington Ingalls, JCB,
L3Harris Technologies, Leonardo, Lockheed Martin, Meggitt, Northrop
Grumman, QinetiQ, Rolls-Royce PLC, RTX (formerly Raytheon Technologies),
Smiths Group and Thales.

What is the nature of these relationships?

Following a search of contracted research between Cardiff University and
arms and defence companies, seven current research projects have been
identified as well as the strategic partnership with Airbus in cyber
security analytics.

The companies research projects are being undertaken with are: Rolls-Royce
Plc; Leonardo UK Ltd; BAE Systems (Operations) Ltd, BAE Systems Land (UK);
Airbus Operations Ltd; and Airbus Endeavr Wales.

I trust this information satisfies your enquiry.  Should you feel
dissatisfied with this response or the way in which your request was
handled you can request an Internal Review. This should be made in writing
within 40 working days of the date of this email. Please provide your
unique reference number of your request, information on why you are
dissatisfied and any detail you would like us to consider as part of the
Internal Review process. Email your request to [1][email address] where
it will be forwarded to the University’s Data Protection Officer who will
be responsible for overseeing the review.

If you remain dissatisfied following the outcome, you have the right to
apply directly to the Information Commissioner for consideration.  The
Information Commissioner can be contacted at the following address:
Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF. Further information is available on their
website: [2]Make a complaint | ICO.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your interest in
Cardiff University. If you require further assistance, please feel free to
contact me.

Kind regards,

Swyddfa Ysgrifenydd y Brifysgol University Secretary’s Office

Prifysgol Caerdydd Cardiff University

Ebost : [3][email address]   Email: [4][email address] 

Mae'r Brifysgol yn croesawu The University welcomes correspondence
gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg neu'n in Welsh or English.  Corresponding in
Saesneg.  Ni fydd gohebu yn Gymraeg Welsh will not lead to any delay.
yn creu unrhwy oedi.

References

Visible links
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2. https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/
3. mailto:[email%20address]
4. mailto:[email%20address]

Dear Muthalath Ahmar
I acknowledge receipt of your email received by this office on 10 October 2024.
Your request will now be dealt with under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and has been allocated reference FOI24-376 which should be quoted in all correspondence. We will respond to your request within 20 working days starting the next working day after receipt, therefore you can expect to receive a response no later than 7 November 2024.

Further to the request that were submitted on the 9 September 2024, please be aware that the Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fes) Regulations 2004 state that two or more requests to one public authority can be aggregated for the purposes of calculating costs if they are:
* by one person, or by different persons who appear to the public authority to be acting in concert or in pursuance of a campaign;
* for the same or similar information; and
* the subsequent request is received by the public authority within 60 working days of the previous request.

Accordingly your requests have been aggregated for this purpose.

In some circumstances a fee may be payable and, if that is the case, we will let you know. A fees notice will be issued to you, and you will be required to pay before we will proceed to deal with your request.

Finally, should you require the disclosure in an alternative format, e.g. screen reader accessible, large print etc, please let us know as soon as possible.

Yours sincerely

Swyddfa Ysgrifenydd y Brifysgol
Prifysgol Caerdydd
Ebost : [email address]

Mae'r Brifysgol yn croesawu gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg neu'n Saesneg. Ni fydd gohebu yn Gymraeg yn creu unrhwy oedi.

University Secretary's Office
Cardiff University
Email: [email address]

The University welcomes correspondence in Welsh or English. Corresponding in Welsh will not lead to any delay.

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Bcc PRFOI

Dear Muthalath,

I am writing in response to your Freedom of Information request dated
10^th October 2024.

For ease of reference, I have reproduced your questions below and set out
our corresponding responses.

I would like some further clarification on the nature of these projects,
as per my initial request. Would you please be able to provide information
about what the research projects are about, funding arrangements and other
partners?

The University invests significant efforts in making available details of
its funded research projects in the interests of Open Science. Project
details are available in the public domain via the Cardiff University
Research Portal, available at [1]https://research.cardiff.ac.uk/. We
invite you to visit the Portal where you can interrogate the database for
information as you may require.

The University considers that the information provided in FOI24-317 is
exempt from disclosure under Section 43(2) of the Freedom of Information
Act 2000. This exemption may be applied where to release
information would, or would be likely to, prejudice the commercial
interests of the University or any third party.

Section 43(2) Commercial Interests

It is considered that to disclose the information requested would
be likely to prejudice the commercial interests of the University.

Consideration of likely prejudice for Cardiff University

We have a thriving and innovative research culture, one that
connects our academics to industry, business, government and the third
sector in Wales, the UK and internationally.

Under its path to 2035 “Our future, together,” the University’s vision is
to be recognized globally as a pioneer for research and innovation and to
work with others to create insights and solutions far beyond those that
can be achieved alone. We will work with external partners and alumni to
enhance commercialization, translational research, entrepreneurship and
civic engagement.

[2]Our future, together - About - Cardiff University

Developing alliances with other academic organisations, industry and
government is essential for us to realise our research ambitions. These
alliances allow us to combine complementary expertise, increase our
research capacity and help us to turn original thought into real world
impact. They also provide exciting cross-organisational opportunities and
alternative funding streams for academics. If the University is to
work effectively with commercial organisations there needs to be
mutual trust and the assurance that commercially sensitive
technologies and financial and business information can be shared on an
entirely confidential basis. Disclosure of information which undermines
this trust would be detrimental to the achievement of our goals as an
organization, and to disclose the information requested could lead
to a distortion of the market by revealing commercially sensitive
information that would be advantageous to other commercial organisations.
Disclosure would not allow a level playing field in comparison to other
organisations which may not be subject to FOI legislation in what is an
increasingly competitive and global R&D environment.

It is also considered that disclosure of this information would be likely
to have a negative effect in terms of the ability of the University to
partner with other organisations if it was considered that the
University might have to disclose information generated as a result
of the partnership that would likely be prejudicial to either
party’s interests.

In order to apply, the exemption requires that a public interest
test be considered and this is documented below:

Public Interest Test

Factors in favour of disclosure

Openness and Transparency - it is in the public interest that
the University, as a public authority, is as open and transparent in
the way it operates as possible including decisions around research.

Factors in favour of non-disclosure

Commercial Interests - it is not in the public interest to
disclose information that would undermine the ability of the
University to undertake and develop its commercial functions and to
differentiate itself from competitors.

Efficiency and effectiveness – it is not in the public interest
to disclose information that would erode the efficiency and
effectiveness of the organisation by damaging its opportunities to develop
income streams and undermine its ability to use that income for
reinvestment in its public task as a provider of higher education.

Given the above, it is considered that it is in the greater public
interest to withhold the information from disclosure at this time.

I trust this information satisfies your enquiry.  Should you feel
dissatisfied with this response or the way in which your request was
handled you can request an Internal Review. This should be made in writing
within 40 working days of the date of this email. Please provide your
unique reference number of your request, information on why you are
dissatisfied and any detail you would like us to consider as part of the
Internal Review process. Email your request to [3][email address] where it
will be forwarded to the University’s Data Protection Officer who will be
responsible for overseeing the review.

If you remain dissatisfied following the outcome, you have the right to
apply directly to the Information Commissioner for consideration.  The
Information Commissioner can be contacted at the following address:
Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow,
Cheshire, SK9 5AF. Further information is available on their
website: [4]Make a complaint | ICO.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your interest in
Cardiff University. If you require further assistance, please feel free to
contact me.

Kind regards,

Swyddfa Ysgrifenydd y Brifysgol University Secretary’s Office

Prifysgol Caerdydd Cardiff University

Ebost : [5][email address]   Email: [6][email address] 

Mae'r Brifysgol yn croesawu The University welcomes correspondence
gohebiaeth yn Gymraeg neu'n in Welsh or English.  Corresponding in
Saesneg.  Ni fydd gohebu yn Gymraeg Welsh will not lead to any delay.
yn creu unrhwy oedi.

References

Visible links
1. https://research.cardiff.ac.uk/
2. https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/about/our-prof...
3. mailto:[email%20address]
4. https://ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint/
5. mailto:[email%20address]
6. mailto:[email%20address]