Special Scientific Coordination Meeting

Special Scientific Coordination Meeting

NANORIGO partners met in person for the final time for a Special Scientific Coordination Meeting (SSCM) from Thursday 2nd – Friday 3rd February to review, discuss and reflect on what has been have achieved in NANORIGO over the past 4 years and discuss how to optimize and maximize the project’s impact.

The meeting, organised by Rudolf Reuther (ENAS), scientific coordinator of NANORIGO, was held in the beautiful location of Burg Windeck Castle, in the heart of Germany’s Black Forest.

Since 2019, the NANORIGO partners, together with their counterparts in sister projects Gov4Nano and RiskGONE have worked to create a framework for nano risk governance that would meet the needs of multi stakeholders in research, policy, industry, and civil society. NANORIGO partners specifically aimed at further developing the means for transdisciplinary risk governance for engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) to guide and support decisionmakers in the safe and sustainable handling and use of these advanced materials, towards new and responsible innovations. The NANORIGO SSCM thus provided a platform for deliberation on the societal, political, economic, technological, legal and environmental issues important to the Risk Governance Framework and associated Tools developed within the project and how its outcomes can best serve stakeholders, now and in the future.

The proceedings began with a warm welcome from Rudolf Reuther. This was followed by an overview from Mark Morrison, the dissemination lead, of the recently held joint final meeting of the three projects at the OECD in Paris in which he summarised the discussions held by the four round tables: harmonisation and standardisation, portal and tools, data, and Risk Governance (House). Damjana Drobne (University of Ljubljana), the data expert within the project, emphasised the need for a framework for human and machine actionability, transparency, and reusable data.

A main subject of discussion was the Risk Governance Portal that has been created, and which entities within the NanoSafety community have the potential to maintain and develop it. Budgetary considerations and a lack of resources may hamper its future, and the question of who would use it was addressed. Notwithstanding, all agreed that the stakeholder engagement and consultation implemented over the four years of the project was one of its key strengths.

The work of the NANORIGO consortium was aligned with recent developments in various EU strategies, including the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability (CSS), launched in 2020; and the European Partnership for the Assessment of Risks from Chemicals (PARC), launched in 2022. It has also been impacted by the stronger focus on principles of ‘Safe and Sustainable by Design’ (SSbD), announced within the CSS, to foster the implementation of the European Green Deal (launched in 2019). These strategic and legislative roles of the risk governance framework thus became the subjects of a lively ‘House of Commons’ debate, led by Kees Le Blansch (KLB), which enabled participants to tease out contentious statements, such as: ‘If growth and competitiveness are the emphases, we should forget risk governance and just pay it lip service’; and ‘The CSS and the SSbD pay lip service to SE but fail to realise it and are thus doomed to fail’. Martin Mullins (Transgero/University of Limerick) made the valid point that the EU uses regulatory normative processes to gain competitiveness; and with regulation comes competitive advantage. It was agreed that regulation is both essential and beneficial to competitive advantage.

In a third session, the participants examined the prospects of maximising, and operationalising the impact of the project’s outcomes from the standpoint of its upcoming deliverables, including an integrative perspective on stakeholder needs, led by Daan Schuurbiers (DPF); the Risk Communication Platform, led by Dana Kuehnel (UFZ); the Risk Governance Framework guidance document, led by Rudolf Reuther on behalf of Milja Koponen (TTL); the Publication on economic benefits from implementing the RGF, based on case studies, led by Martin Mullins (TGO); and an examination of options for the form and funding of a Nanotechnology Risk Governance Organisational Form, led by Mark Morrison (Optimat). Pieter van Broekhuizen highlighted that the role of a moderator had been mentioned a few times and, ‘If we want to improve risk communications, a moderator would be very useful to guide all the others’.

The session concluded with a multimedia presentation of the results of the NANORIGO case studies, created by Martin Himly, Sabine Hofer, Norbert Hofstaetter (PLUS), with a specific focus on the rubber tyre case study.

Day two of the meeting provided a platform for all attendees to reflect and contribute to a discussion on lessons learned from the project, its particular strengths such as the user committee, and ways forward. Dana Kuehnel flagged up the importance of Damjana Drobne’s KaRL approach (Knowledge Readiness Levels), which enabled partners to realise how much more can be enacted for data readiness. Damjana Drobne made the salient point that what NANORIGO contributed to the transparency of the ecosystem, and we need positive change.

Concluding, Rudolf Reuther commented: ‘It has been a learning process in relation to what we thought, and it’s opened the way to seeing complexity and finding solutions. We have to think in a more holistic way. Everything has risks and benefits, but we have to make things inclusive and sustainable […] conditions change, and we have to adapt and be proactive too.’

The outcomes and a synthesised report will be made available to all interested stakeholders

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NANORIGO moves forward, creates legacy

NANORIGO partners are holding a Special Scientific Coordination Meeting (SSCM) on Thursday 2nd and Friday 3rd February to review, discuss and reflect on what we have achieved in NANORIGO during the last 4 years. The meeting will be a valuable opportunity to examine the results, deliverables and main outcomes of NANORIGO and the NMBP-13 initiative and how project partners can optimize and maximize the impact.

The meeting is being organised by Rudolf Reuther (ENAS), scientific coordinator of NANORIGO, in the beautiful location of Burg Windeck Castle, in the heart of Germany’s Black Forest. The outcomes and a synthesised report will be made available to all interested stakeholders after the event.

For the past four years, NANORIGO has been working to further develop the means for multi-stakeholder and transdisciplinary risk governance for engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) to guide and support decisionmakers in the safe and sustainable handling and use of these advanced materials, towards new and responsible innovations. Our work has been aligned with recent developments in various EU strategies, including the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability (CSS), launched in 2020; and the European Partnership for the Assessment of Risks from Chemicals (PARC), launched in 2022. It has also been impacted by the stronger focus on principles of ‘Safe and Sustainable by Design’ (SSbD), announced within the CSS, to foster the implementation of the European Green Deal (launched in 2019), leading us to broaden our scope.

This NANORIGO SSCM will provide a platform for deliberation on the societal, political, economic, technological, legal and environmental issues important to the Risk Governance Framework and associated Tools developed within the project and how our outcomes can best serve our stakeholders, now and in the future.

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Future-proof Approaches for Risk Governance – Lessons Learned from Nanomaterials

Practical information

Organizer

Organised by the NMBP-13 projects NANORIGO, RiskGONE and Gov4Nano 

Location

Online

Date

31st January 2023

We are pleased to invite you to join our final conference that will present the activities of our three EU-funded projects to help shape international approaches to addressing future challenges in risk governance of advanced (nano)materials. This includes safe- and sustainable by design (SSbD) and harmonisation and standardisation.

The conference takes place online on 31st January 2023 from 11:00 to 15:00 CET. 

Please register via this link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/future-proof-approaches-for-risk-governance-online-tickets-492333872867

Conference approach

We will present and discuss the practical application of our key results and recommendations in the following thematic areas:

  • Harmonisation and standardisation
  • Data management (and FAIR data)
  • Accessibility of tools, instruments and guidance via an online portal
  • Effective organisation of risk governance

These have been informed by extensive stakeholder consultations, and will complement and support the work of others on risk governance of advanced (nano)materials.  

Audience feedback will be invited via question-and-answer sessions and through online polling.

Why it is important to attend this conference

The fundamental premise of our projects is that governance must be inclusive. Thus, we are extending an invitation to all stakeholders that can contribute to this discussion and are involved in ongoing initiatives related to the CSS and/or (risk) governance of advanced materials. This includes representatives from NGOs, industry, research organisations, government agencies, regulators and international organisations, and in particular those involved in:

  • (Research) projects in the context of the implementation of the CSS, e.g., projects on SSbD
  • Developing harmonisation and standardisation approaches for advanced (nano) materials
  • Nanosafety research
  • Regulatory risk assessment or method development of new (nano)materials
  • Policy development for advanced (nano)materials
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Future-proof Approaches for Risk Governance – Lessons Learned from Nanomaterials

Organised by the NMBP-13 projects NANORIGO, RiskGONE and Gov4Nano
in collaboration with the OECD’s Working Party on Manufactured Nanomaterials (WPMN)

We invite you to register your interest in participating in our conference to help shape international approaches to addressing future challenges in risk governance of nano- & advanced materials. This includes safe- and sustainable by design (SSbD) and harmonisation and standardisation.  The conference will comprise two parts:

  1. In person (by invitation only) at the OECD Conference Centre in Paris on the 24th and 25th January 2023.  
  2. An online session open to everybody on 31st January 2023.

Register your interest to participate via this link https://NMB13-final-conference.eventbrite.com

The main aim of our conference is to ensure that results from our projects are taken up to:

  • support the implementation of the Chemical Strategy for Sustainability (CSS)
  • address future challenges in risk governance of new- and advanced materials

Conference approach

We will use interactive roundtables to present and discuss our key results and recommendations with a broad international audience of relevant stakeholders. The outcomes from these discussions are expected to complement and support the work of other stakeholders and initiatives on risk governance of nano- and advanced materials, including on the following themes:

  • Improved governance practices
  • Harmonisation and standardisation approaches
  • Data management (and FAIR data)
  • Accessibility of tools, instruments and guidance via an online portal
  • Effective organisation of risk governance

Why you must attend this conference

The fundamental premise of our projects is that governance must be inclusive.  Thus, we are extending an invitation to all stakeholders that can contribute to this discussion and are involved in ongoing initiatives related to the CSS and/or (risk) governance of advanced materials. This includes representatives from NGOs, industry, research organisations, EC, EU Member States and experts from the OECD WPMN, and in particular those involved in:

  • (Research) projects in the context of the implementation of the CSS, e.g., projects on SSbD
  • Developing harmonisation and standardisation approaches for advanced (nano) materials
  • Nanosafety research
  • Regulatory risk assessment or method development of new (nano)materials

NB spaces for the in-person event are limited so please register your interest at your earliest convenience

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Industrial Technologies (June 27th to 29th in Grenoble)

Practical information

Organizer

Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation

Location

Grenoble, France

Date

27 – 29 June 2022

This event is co-organised by the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), the Ministry of the Economy, Finance and the Recovery and the European Commission.

IndTech is a flagship event in the European agenda, organised every two years by the European Commission in one of the countries holding the presidency of the Council of the European Union. Under the programme of Horizon Europe’s Cluster 4: “Digital, Industry and Space”, this event will mobilise key players in Europe and worldwide around the theme of the industrial technologies of tomorrow. IndTech aims to highlight the importance of this domain for European competitiveness and research as well as to illustrate the synergies between research and innovation initiatives, in particular through technological platforms and, since 2021, the industrial partnerships of Horizon Europe.

Industry’s dual green and digital transition will be the centre of discussion between researchers, industrial companies, start-ups, funding agencies and representatives from the Commission, as well as from French administrative bodies and other Member States. The event will also bring together young citizens and raise their awareness of the major transformations under way in industrial technologies throughout the European continent.

This event is co-organised by the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation (MESRI), the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), the European Commission and the Ministry of the Economy, Finance and the Recovery (MEFR).

Limassol

Nano-week & NanoCommons Final Conference (June 20th to 24th in Cyprus)

NanoCommons, in collaboration with the EU NanoSafety Cluster projects, organises the “Nano-week” and NanoCommons Final Conference, in Limassol, Cyprus.

The theme of the conference is Evolution of Nanosafety and materials sustainability as we transition into Horizon Europe”.

The conference and associated events (e.g., Young NanoSafety Researchers event, Training events, EU-US CoRs meeting, NanoInChi meeting, NSC meeting) will take place between 20 – 24 June 2022.

Key dates

  • 12th Jan 2022: Call for abstracts opens
  • 25th February 2022:  Closing date for abstracts for ORAL PRESENTATIONS
  • 20th April 2022: Early bird registration deadline
  • 31st May 2022: Deadline for POSTER abstract submission
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Nanosafety Training School (May 15th to 20th in Venice)

Event Date: 20 June 2021 – 25 June 2021
San Servolo Island, Venice, Italy

About

This year the Venice Nano Training School celebrates its 10th anniversary. The event will take place in San Servolo (Venice, Italy) on 22nd – 27th March 2020.

The School will feature keynote speeches, hands-on sessions and a dedicated Young Scientist Forum Day (23rd March) during which early career researchers (PhD students, PhD candidates and Post-Docs) will have the opportunity to present their work. Abstract submissions will open on 10th of December 2019.

The School week will include a variety of hands-on sessions aimed to transfer state-of-the-art knowledge on a variety of topics from key experts to the new generation of nano-environmental, health and safety, and biomedicine professionals, using interprofessional education.

A variety of networking activities (a special 10th anniversary welcome cocktail, social event and a social dinner) will enable plenty of time and opportunities for you to widen your network and foster academic exchange.

Deadlines

Registration and abstract submission opens on 10th December 2019

Abstract submission closes on 17th January 2020

Notification of accepted abstracts: 30th January 2020

Deadline for registrations: 20th February 2020

School Certificates

Each participant will be given a Certificate of attendance upon request

To learn more about the training school click here.

NMBP-3rd newsletter

NMBP-13 Risk Governance Projects Newsletter #3

The latest Newsletter from the NMBP-13 Projects is now out. This issue provides an update on the progress of the three sister projects and development of the blueprint for the NRGC and adaptation of the IRGC approach, and events in which the three projects are represented, among others.
NMBP-13 2nd Year Newsletter:Download
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Review of EU recommendation on the definition of ‘Nanomaterials’ open until 30 June 2021

The European Commission has launched a targeted stakeholder consultation through an online survey to gather insights from experts in nanotechnology and the general public on the common definition of ‘nanomaterials’. The current definition of ‘nanomaterials’ was adopted by the European Commission in 2011 and stipulated in the Recommendation 2011/696/EU on the definition of nanomaterial. This consultation aims to gather stakeholders’ views on the Commission’s interim findings that were attained through preparatory evaluations, i.e., a targeted stakeholder survey, a comprehensive assessment, a workshop, and three technical reports published by the EC JRC. The overall aim is to consider potential changes in the Recommendation.

Click here to participate in the survey.

Your opinion matters!

The survey closes on 30 June 2021.