SAF€RA – Coordination of European Research on Industrial Safety towards Smart and Sustainable Growth is an FP7 project funded by the European Commission under the ERA-NET scheme aimed at coordinating the research among the EU member states and associated countries in the field of industrial safety. The main objective of the project is to step up the cooperation and coordination of national or regional research activities through networking of programmes, including their mutual opening and the development and implementation of joint activities. SAF€RA is coordinated by the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health.
In the first phase of the project, 19 members of the SAF€RA consortium (PEROSH institutes among them) from 10 European countries – organizations which fund or manage research in industrial safety – started identifying the thematic research landscape and funding mechanisms within their national funding programmes. It was a step-by-step process that started with a Toulouse seminar (5-6 July 2012) and identification of areas of joint interest. Then, during the workshop in Rome (24-25 January 2013) a common vision has been agreed. This work allowed SAF€RA members to develop joint strategies prior to the launch of joint calls for proposals in the field of industrial safety.
A consultation process was initiated among the partners and the Advisory Panel of SAF€RA – and broadened to include the national networks, the European Commission and the social partners – aiming to define the future direction for SAF€RA. The outcome of the consultation process is the SAF€RA Memorandum of Common Understanding which was drafted during the workshop in Prague (26-27 February 2013). This document includes a SAF€RA strategy for the two remaining years of the project and beyond.
The Memorandum of Common Understanding was presented and endorsed at the Symposium on SAF€RA future strategies organized by CIOP-PIB in Cracow on 21 March 2013. The vision, mission and values shared by SAF€RA members are specified and the following five main priority themes for joint activities were identified:
- The value of industrial safety
- Good practices in managing new and emerging risks
- Safe transport system for dangerous goods
- New technologies in improving safety
- Human and organizational factors
Each theme is further specified and the issues that are of interest for SAF€RA members are listed. At the moment SAF€RA is working on the topics of the first joint call for proposals which is planned to be published in autumn 2013.
More information on SAF€RA project is available at: http://www.safera.industrialsafety-tp.org
Contact persons for SAF€RA project:
Dr. Carita Aschan
Coordinator of the SAF€RA project
FiOH, carita.aschan@ttl.fi
Katarzyna Buszkiewicz-Seferyńska
CIOP-PIB, kabus@ciop.pl
