International Biosafety and Biosecurity

Laboratory Standard Development Initiative

Getting involved

Building a successful biosafety and biosecurity management Standard for laboratories depends on your contribution. This is a flexible process with many opportunities for you to play a part. Once you are registered, you can participate in as many steps as you like. By getting involved, you will ensure your views are reflected and that the end product is useful to you. These workshops also present an important opportunity to interact with your international colleagues.

Step 1: Review the draft business plan and Pre-register*

Step 2: Attend the Kick Off meeting and first working session on April 12 & 13, 2007 in Brussels, Belgium. This is where the business plan will be accepted and a working document will be presented as a starting point for developing the Standard.

Step 3: Provide your feedback on a first full draft of the Standard which will be consolidated with others’ comments for consideration in the next version.

Step 4: Attend the second working session on June 27 & 28, 2007 in Boston, Massachusetts where you will continue to work with your peers on the Standard.

Step 5: Share your observations on the second draft.

Step 6: Attend the final meeting in Brussels on November 28th and 29th, 2007 where the Standard will be prepared for publication as a CEN Workshop Agreement.

This initiative is being coordinated by the European Biosafety Association (EBSA), the American Biological Safety Association (ABSA) and Det Norske Veritas (DNV), one of the world’s foremost certification bodies. EBSA and ABSA are helping to channel international biosafety and biosecurity expertise, together with support from the Asia Pacific Biosafety Association and others. DNV is providing project management and expertise on the standards development process. Netherlands Standardization Institute (NEN) is serving as secretariat for drafting the Standard. The International Centre for Infectious Diseases (ICID) is assisting with communication and stakeholder management. The European Committee for Standardization (CEN) is the administering body of the CEN Workshop Agreement process.

Primary funding for this initiative is provided by the European Commission through the European Programme on Critical Infrastructure Protection. Additional support has been provided by ABSA, the Public Health Agency of Canada, AstraZeneca PLC and DNV.

Questions or comments should be directed to: biorisk@icid.com