Proposal: Multi‐annual (2021‐2024) training package to address EFSA's crisis preparedness needs

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Disclaimer: The present document has been produced and adopted by the bodies identified above as authors. This task has been carried out exclusively by the authors in the context of a contract between the European Food Safety Authority and the authors, awarded following a tender procedure. The present document is published complying with the transparency principle to which the Authority is subject. It may not be considered as an output adopted by the Authority. The European Food Safety Authority reserves its rights, view and position as regards the issues addressed and the conclusions reached in the present document, without prejudice to the rights of the authors.

Abstract

This report satisfies the first deliverable specified in Framework Contract Specific Contract No. 01, implementing Framework Contract No. OC/EFSA/SCER/2020/01; namely, to set out a four‐year crisis training package that meets EFSA's overall and specific objectives for the project.

Guided by desk research into EFSA's current strategic and operational context, interaction with internal and external stakeholders culminating in a meeting during February 2021, and drawing upon the experience of delivering EFSA's crisis preparedness training since 2012, a clear framework is proposed for the construction of one ‘external’ and one ‘internal’ training event per year.

The proposed training approach encompasses pedagogical briefings, specific networking and discussion opportunities in plenary and small group sessions; and simulation exercising using a realistic scenario. All activity will be undertaken under the aegis of the overall strategic theme, ‘Trusted Transparent Response’, providing three crisis preparedness ‘values’, which in turn can be mapped onto three core capabilities to be enhanced by crisis preparedness training.

The proposed approach recommends face‐to‐face training as a preferred route but allows for remote training delivery via video conferencing if required by the prevailing local COVID‐19 outbreak status. Participants, technical domains and precise content for each training session will be agreed on a year‐by‐year basis, ensuring the training programme remains agile and capable of being adapted flexibly to suit future topics and circumstances. This will help to ensure the training package continues to provide the utmost relevancy, and optimal matching between participants and topics, in each of the annual events.

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