Prioritisation strategy and criteria

The selection of substances to be the subject of research activities under HBM4EU represents a critical step towards achieving these objectives. In order to secure the legitimacy, credibility and societal relevance of our work, HBM4EU partners are consulting policy makers, scientists and stakeholders on the strategy for the prioritisation of substances for both monitoring and research activities under the project.
As a Horizon 2020 project, HBM4EU addresses societal challenges to health and wellbeing for European citizens. It is a principle objective of the project to bridge the divide between science and policy at European level and to generate results that meet the knowledge needs of European Union (EU) policy makers. Priority is therefore given to the nomination of substance by the members of the EU Policy Board, with the aim of delivering on this key objective. Input from the National Hubs is also highly valued, and will help us to ensure that the project also serves the knowledge needs of national policy makers and to establish whether national and European level priorities are aligned.
We also request input from members of the Stakeholder Forum. This valuable input will allow us to assess the social relevance of research activities on the substances that are nominated.
As such the strategy for the prioritisation of substances is not based entirely on scientific evidence. It is also guided by an imperative to produce knowledge in support of policy making at European level.