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Establishing a Nanotechnology Risk Governance Framework

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - NANORIGO (Establishing a Nanotechnology Risk Governance Framework)

Période du rapport: 2020-09-01 au 2022-02-28

Significant progress that has been achieved in relation to research on nanomaterials safety and sustainability. At the same time there are good ongoing initiatives aimed to update the policies and regulation on safety and sustainability.
As it is important for society that the updating is founded on the best available knowledge, NANORIGO aims (together with G4N and RISKGONE) to support this updating.
The NANORIGO project has, in close collaboration with the G4N and RiskGONE, in the second period continued creating an overview of data availability, data-related tools, criteria for completeness of data, and strategies for how to manage such data. This comprises recommendation on how to include alternative data and outlining a data readiness level approach to assess the data. The data overview links to wider testing tools used in a Risk Governance Framework (RGF). Available testing tools have been identified and integrated and new tools have also been fully developed, e.g. multi-criteria and prospective tools. Tools for how to include social science perspectives are also continuously considered, and reports on this available. All relevant tools are integrated (ongoing) in the context of a web-platform outlining the RGF, and a risk communication platform is also developed. The exact outline of this web-platform is still under development among the three projects. The RGF consists of steps covering pre-assessment all the way to monitoring/feedback and considers context. There is a continuous interaction with key stakeholders, sharing the scientific facts regarding the key components of the RGF and the related tools. Key conditions for a Risk Governance organisational Form have been identified, in close collaboration with the other projects, and published in a blue-print report. This document will be used forward for an evaluation of pros and cons or various options. The usability of data, tools and framework for an organisational form will be considered through stakeholder-relevant case studies in the coming period. All of this is also relevant in a larger European and Global perspective targeting societal challenges, which is why partners from the project have already participated in many international fora. The broad and continuous communication and outreach to the surrounding society is very important for NANORIGO (and the other project), hence, many workshops have been and are continuously held, with presentations and publications involving key-stakeholders. The outreach also involves contact to public events, conferences etc. to ensure awareness and to listen to needs.
The project has already had significant impact on the development of a transdisciplinary Risk Governance Framework and the related Risk Governance Council for nanomaterials. The exceptional collaboration with the two other NMBP-13 projects, coordinated through the three coordinators with a cross project core groups working on data, tools, framework/portal and organisational forms, has resulted a broad understanding and well supported deliverables. It has however, also resulted in a high degree of meeting activities with partners having to be flexible to accommodate multiple views. It is clear that the partners have taken on this task with a very positive mind trying to optimize all. The current changes in the surrounding regulatory and scientific landscape meant that the projects had to update the focus on some parts of the projects, this has obviously caused some initial slowdown until the direction was agreed and updated, but the focus is now adjusted and the collaborative work in full speed.
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