Within PARC, one core element is participation and collaboration with relevant stakeholders. We therefore strive to include stakeholders from NGOs, academia, industry/ business associations, employer and worker representative bodies and patient organizations to foster collaboration and create synergies among our different stakeholders’ activities within PARC. An open call published last year has reached around 100 institutions from a stakeholder list that included interested organizations, and representative umbrella organizations known to PARC or those identified based on experience with the HBM4EU Stakeholder Forum. The list was reviewed and additional stakeholders to represent the broad thematic area of PARC were included. 

Responses from 40 applicants were received within the deadline of the call, of which 34 expressed their interest to become a member of the PARC Stakeholder Forum. The remaining six applicants wished to stay in contact with PARC and receive information throughout the project duration and will be considered as interested stakeholders for the broader PARC stakeholder community. Finally, a two-step approach for ranking and finalizing the potential list of Stakeholder Forum members has been applied. The final list of the Stakeholder Forum members was proposed and approved by the Management and Grant Signatory Board of PARC.

The Stakeholder Forum hosted the first meeting on 28^th February 2023 and in itself made a promising start into the ongoing work of PARC. The forum holds 15 members balanced according to the main stakeholder groups of NGOs, industry and other associations, including thematic representation of women, workers, patients, health and the environment. It facilitates interaction, enables continuous and regular communication and makes use of targeted information. The forum shall accompany PARC`s process and current developments in chemical risk assessment of human health and the environment. We are looking forward to continuous collaboration and building a promising exchange on diverse expectations, needs and interests articulated within the Stakeholder forum.

“The PARC Stakeholder Forum is a very promising initiative for European stakeholders from NGO, industry and other relevant associations to exchange intensively in the next years. We are specifically interested in exposure and human biomonitoring data but also in the development of new risk assessment approaches to address the sustainability challenges.” says Violaine Verougstraete from Eurometaux, co-chair of the Stakeholder Forum.

„Helped by exchange between NGOs, industry, and medical and environmental associations, PARC has the potential to support the European Roadmap for transitioning away from testing on animals. Research advances on innovative, non-animal tools and methods will enable the consolidation of new concepts and risk assessment approaches that are applicable to regulatory decision making.” highlights Emma Grange from Cruelty Free Europe, co-chair of the Stakeholder Forum.

Fifteen representatives from bodies and stakeholder organizations operating at EU level build the Stakeholder Forum.

The International Board consists of 15 high-level experts in the field of chemical risk assessment who will provide expertise in the different scientific and policy topics tackled by the partnership. Experts come from international chemical risk assessment platforms, international organisations, scientific advisory boards, scientific committees of the EU Agencies, scientific associations with well recognised expertise, top-level academia, etc. Its members have been selected in such a way as to bring in complementary information from various parts of the world, topics of research and legislative domains and jurisdictions.

Meetings of the International Board will be organised annually to obtain knowledge from outside PARC, to provide information on recent developments and to enhance synergies and innovation. The International Board may also be called upon to review key projects of PARC prior to their launch and approval for funding by the Management Board. Members are available to participate in regular and ad hoc meetings and to communicate their knowledge to PARC and information from PARC to their broad range of international contacts.

The face-to-face meeting of the Stakeholder Forum and the International Board will take place in Athens, Greece, at the end of June.