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Objectives

NEW OSH ERA - 'New and Emerging Risks in Occupational Safety and Health - Anticipating and dealing with change in the workplace through coordination of OSH risk research' - has a number of inter-related objectives.

  • Coordination
    The goal for NEW OSH ERA was to increase coordination between national research activities and policies.
  • Focusing on new and emerging risks
    NEW OSH ERA focused particularly on identifying the new and emerging risks that face the European workforce.

    New and emerging risks
     

    Any occupational risk that is both "new" and/or "increasing". "New" implies that:

    • the risk was previously unknown and is a result of new processes, new technologies, new types of workplace or social or organisational change, or
    • a long-standing issue is newly considered as a risk due to a change in social or public perceptions (e.g. stress, bullying), or
    • new scientific knowledge allows a long-standing issue to be identified as a risk (e.g. Repetitive-Strain-Injury (RSI) where cases have existed for many years without being identified as RSI because of a lack of scientific knowledge).

    The risk is "increasing" if:

    • the number of hazards leading to the risk is growing, or
    • the likelihood of exposure to the hazard leading to the risk is increasing, (exposure level and/or the number of people exposed), or
    • the effect of the hazard on workers' health is getting worse (seriousness of health effects and/or the number of people affected).

    (Definition of “new and emerging risk” according to the Risk Observatory of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work)

  • Collecting and analysing data on OSH research activities concerning new and emerging risks
    Research activities on new and emerging risks in OSH were mapped and analysed and good practice in programme management was identified.

  • Identifying duplication and gaps
    By mapping the research that was currently being carried out across the EU, any duplication between the work of different national bodies could be identified, as well as gaps and new opportunities in research.
  • Common strategies and priorities
    Europe-wide strategies for OSH research were developed, and common priorities were established, with research across the EU being focused on the most important subjects.
  • Strengthening links with policymakers
    By involving Ministries and other governmental agencies in the NEW OSH ERA Consortium, links were strengthened between the research community and policymakers, making it easier for OSH research to contribute to a wider range of policy areas.
  • Exchange of information
    Effective dissemination of information, through conferences and international workshops for example, helped with the exchange of good practice, and increased contact between OSH researchers and the key people coordinating other OSH research programmes. NEW OSH ERA involved the development of a common knowledge-base and new channels of communication - the project website, for example, enabled research results to be transmitted to a wide range of partners.
  • Building competencies and improving research quality
    NEW OSH ERA helped to develop the competencies of researchers, and improved the quality of research projects in the field of OSH. Partly this was through the development of joint standards and evaluation criteria, the benchmarking of research programmes, and the development of joint training programmes and a joint database of experts.
  • A 'single market' in OSH research
    NEW OSH ERA helped to create an 'internal market' in OSH research, with free movement of knowledge, researchers and technology, and mutual opening of programmes throughout the EU. Disseminating information on job vacancies, for example, lead to greater mobility among researchers.
  • Contributing to European integration
    NEW OSH ERA was open to members from the new Member States, and so it contributed to European integration. Information was disseminated to non-participating Member States and organisations, helping to encourage further members to join.
  • Awareness-raising
    An important aspect of NEW OSH ERA was raising public awareness of OSH issues, especially in relation to new and emerging risks. The project website helped research results and good practice to be communicated to a wide range of individuals and organisations, including trade unions, managers, employers, funding agencies, and research institutes.
  • A healthier workforce
    The ultimate aim of NEW OSH ERA was to promote the health and well-being of the European workforce, through understanding of the complex interactions between work environment, work organisation and workers' health.