Call for expressions of interest for scientific experts to be considered for membership of the Scientific Panels and the Scientific Committee of the European Food Safety Authority (Parma, Italy)
Date: 2011-03-31
Institutions: European Food Safety Authority
Subjects: European Food Safety Authority, administrative structures, food safety, foodstuffs legislation, operation of the Institutions, scientific committee (EU)








C_2011099EN.01003101.xml










31.3.2011   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 99/31





Call for expressions of interest for scientific experts to be considered for membership of the Scientific Panels and the Scientific Committee of the European Food Safety Authority (Parma, Italy)
2011/C 99/06






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Panel on animal health and welfare (AHAW)











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Panel on food additives and nutrient sources added to food (ANS)











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Panel on biological hazards (BIOHAZ)











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Panel on food contact materials, flavourings, enzymes and processing aids (CEF)











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Panel on contaminants in the food chain (CONTAM)











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Panel on feed additives and products or substances used in animal feed (FEEDAP)











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Panel on genetically modified organisms (GMO)











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Panel on dietetic products, nutrition and allergies (NDA)











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Panel on plant health (PLH)











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Panel on plant protection products and their residues (PPR)











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Scientific Committee (SC)






Ref.: EFSA/E/2011/001

1.   Subject of the call

This call is addressed to scientists who wish to be considered for membership of the Scientific Committee (SC) of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) or one of EFSA’s Scientific Panels on, namely: animal health and welfare (AHAW), food additives and nutrient sources added to food (ANS), biological hazards (BIOHAZ), food contact materials, enzymes, flavourings and processing aids (CEF), contaminants in the food chain (CONTAM), feed additives and products or substances used in animal feed (FEEDAP), genetically modified organisms (GMO), dietetic products, nutrition and allergies (NDA), plant health (PLH), plant protection products and their residues (PPR).
The current members of the Scientific Committee and of eight of the Scientific Panels (all except ANS and CEF) are serving a three-year term of office which is due to expire in mid-2012. The new members will be appointed for the following three-year term starting mid-2012 and ending mid-2015.
Regarding the members of ANS and CEF Scientific Panels, the three-year term mandate that is starting in mid-2011 is due to expire in mid-2014. New members to fill in vacant posts in these panels may be appointed from the reserve list established as a result of this call. The same reserve list may also serve to appoint new members of the ANS and CEF Scientific Panels for the following three-year term, starting mid-2014 and ending mid-2017.
Experts included in the existing reserve lists, that is, those established as a result of the following calls: EFSA/E/2009/001 (‘the 2009 reserve list’) and both EFSA/E/2010/001 and EFSA/E/2010/002 (‘the 2011 reserve list’), should submit a new application to the new call if they wish to be considered for membership of the Scientific Committee or of the Scientific Panels in 2012 or if they wish to be included in the 2012 reserve list.
The 2009 reserve list and the 2011 reserve list will be closed as soon as the 2012 reserve list is established.
2.   The European Food Safety Authority

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is the keystone of European Union (EU) risk assessment regarding food and feed safety. In close collaboration with national authorities and in open consultation with its stakeholders, EFSA provides independent scientific advice and clear communication on existing and emerging risks grounded in the most up-to-date scientific methodologies and data available. Its scientific advice underpins the policies and decisions of risk managers in the European institutions and EU Member States.
EFSA brings together Europe’s best available experts in risk assessment in the field of food and feed safety, who act in an independent capacity for an autonomous, self-governed organisation to provide the European institutions and the Member States with scientific advice of the highest standard.
The Authority is committed to the core standards of scientific excellence, openness, transparency, independence and responsiveness. By working independently, openly and transparently EFSA delivers the best possible scientific advice and therefore contributes to strengthening the European food and feed safety system.
For more information regarding EFSA, please refer to its Founding Regulation:
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CONSLEG:2002R0178:20090807:EN:PDF
3.   EFSA’s Scientific Panels and Scientific Committee

The Scientific Committee and Scientific Panels are responsible for providing the scientific opinions of the Authority and other advice as appropriate, each within their own spheres of competence. They produce scientific opinions and advice for risk managers. This helps to provide a sound foundation for the formulation of European policies and legislation and this supports risk managers in taking decisions.
The Scientific Panels are normally composed of 21 independent scientific experts. The Scientific Committee is composed of the Chairs of each Scientific Panel and six other scientific experts.
Members of the Scientific Committee and the Scientific Panels are appointed for a three-year term of office that may be renewed twice. members are expected to attend and contribute actively to the meetings of the Scientific Committee or Scientific Panels where opinions, statements or guidance documents are adopted.
These scientific opinions, statements and guidance documents are published in the EFSA Journal, a monthly publication which is indexed in bibliographic databases relevant to EFSA’s work.

Applicants are referred to the Annex I published on EFSA’s website to consult the detailed description of the remit of the Scientific Committee and the Scientific Panels.

Applicants are advised to give careful consideration to Annex I when preparing their applications. In the context of the evaluation on whether they meet the selection requirements (see section 5 below), due consideration will be given to the suitability of the applicants’ profiles in relation to the remit of the Scientific Committee or of the Scientific Panels.
For more information regarding the selection of members of the Scientific Committee and Panels please refer to the ‘Decision of the Executive Director concerning the selection of members of the Scientific Committee, Scientific Panels and external experts’
http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/keydocs/docs/expertselection.pdf
For more information on the establishment and operations of Scientific Panels ant their working groups, please refer to the ‘Decision of the Management Board concerning the establishment and operations of the Scientific Committee, Scientific Panels and of their working groups’.
http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/keydocs/docs/paneloperation.pdf
4.   The role of the members of EFSA’s Scientific Panels and Scientific Committee

Members of the Scientific Committee and Scientific Panels are experienced, independent scientists selected and appointed in accordance with EFSA’s rules and EFSA’s Founding Regulation.
During their term in office members of Scientific Committee and Scientific Panels will be asked to perform the following tasks:






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contributing to the discussion, the preparation and the adoption of scientific opinions of the Scientific Panel and/or of the Scientific Committee and their working groups,










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provision of scientific advice on matters falling within the remit of the Scientific Panel and/or of the Scientific Committee,










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provision of advice on conducting and organising the scientific activities of the Scientific Panel and/or of the Scientific Committee.




Members of the Scientific Committee and Scientific Panels may be chosen as chairs, vice-chairs and rapporteurs of the Scientific Committee, Scientific Panels and of their working groups in line with the EFSA Management Board Decision (1) concerning the establishment and operations of the Scientific Committee and Panels.
General conditions:






 


Members of a Scientific Panel and of the Scientific Committee will be requested to attend two-day meetings usually held in Parma, Italy. These meetings will take place between six and ten times per year.










 


In addition, members of Scientific Panels and of the Scientific Committee are expected to participate, as appropriate, in some meetings of the working groups that are established either by the Scientific Panels or the Scientific Committee. These meetings usually take place six to thirteen times a year.










 


Attendance at the meetings of the Scientific Panels, the Scientific Committee or of the working groups requires some degree of preparatory work, including prior reading and drafting of documents. Meetings and most documents are in English.










 


Applicants are required to express their commitment that, if appointed, they will participate in the activities of the Scientific Committee or of the Scientific Panels.










 


EFSA will, in accordance with its financial rules, bear the travel costs, daily and accommodation allowance of the members. A special indemnity will be paid for each full day of meeting attendance (2).




5.   Selection procedure

Applicants are requested to indicate in the application form a maximum of three (3) preferences for those Scientific Panels and/or the Scientific Committee they wish to apply for, in order of preference.
Members who have just completed three consecutive terms of office in the Scientific Committee may apply for membership of a Scientific Panel. Likewise, members who have just completed three consecutive terms of office in a Scientific Panel may apply for membership of the Scientific Committee or of a different Scientific Panel.

The requirements

A.   Eligibility criteria

The following requirements must be met for applicants to be considered eligible:






(i)


a level of education which corresponds to completed university studies of at least four years attested by a diploma in the following fields: agronomy/agricultural science, animal nutrition, biochemistry, biology, chemistry, ecotoxicology, environmental science, epidemiology, food microbiology, food technology, human medicine, life science, occupational medicine, pharmacology, pharmacy, public health, toxicology, veterinary medicine and related areas;










(ii)


in addition to the above, at least 10 years of professional experience relevant to the remit of the Panel(s) chosen gained after obtaining the requested diploma;










(iii)


thorough knowledge of the English language (3);










(iv)


applicants must complete the declaration of interests included in the application in a detailed, accurate and complete manner (4). Please note that failure to fill in this part of the form in a complete manner will result in the rejection of the application (5);










(v)


applicants must be nationals of a Member State of the European Union (EU), or of a country of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) or of EU candidate countries. Experts from third countries may also apply but will only be considered for membership of the Scientific Committee or of Scientific Panels, if the required level of expertise cannot be found among nationals of EU, EFTA or EU candidate countries.




B.   Selection criteria — Evaluation

Applications meeting the eligibility requirements (see section 5. A) will be admitted to a comparative evaluation carried out by EFSA on the basis of the selection criteria indicated below.
Applicants are strongly encouraged to fill in the application form in all sections with the necessary information and evidence, as this will form the basis for their evaluation.
The evaluation of all applications considered eligible will be carried out by means of a scoring range from zero through to five for each of the selection criteria indicated below. In order to reflect the relative importance of the different selection criteria, a weighting coefficient will be attributed (specific coefficients are established for the Scientific Committee). Each application will obtain a score ranging between zero and 100.
The following selection criteria will be examined:






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experience in carrying out scientific risk assessment and/or providing scientific advice in fields related to food and feed safety in the areas of competence and expertise of the Scientific Committee or the Scientific Panel preferred (for the Scientific Panels maximum 25 points out of 100 — weighting coefficient of 5; for the Scientific Committee maximum 30 points out of 100 — weighting coefficient of 6)










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proven scientific excellence in one, or preferably several fields linked to the area covered by the Scientific Committee or the Scientific Panel preferred (for the Scientific Panels maximum 20 points out of 100 — weighting coefficient of 4; for the Scientific Committee maximum 15 points out of 100 — weighting coefficient of 3)










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experience in peer reviewing scientific work and publications, in fields related to the area covered by the Scientific Committee or the Scientific Panel preferred (maximum 15 points out of 100 — weighting coefficient of 3)










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the ability to analyse complex information and dossiers, often from a wide range of scientific disciplines and sources and to prepare draft scientific opinions and reports (maximum 10 points out of 100 — weighting coefficient of 2)










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professional experience in a multidisciplinary environment, preferably in an international context (maximum 10 points out of 100 — weighting coefficient of 2)










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experience in project management related to scientific matters (maximum 10 points out of 100 — weighting coefficient of 2)










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proven communication skills, based on teaching experience, public presentations, active participation in meetings, publications (maximum 10 points out of 100 — weighting coefficient of 2).




Applicants may only be considered for membership of the Scientific Committee or of a Scientific Panel if their application obtains a score that is above a cut-off score of 66 points (out of 100). EFSA reserves the right to consult third parties on the professional experience of applicants in the context of their application.
In addition to the abovementioned criteria, the Annual Declaration of Interests will be reviewed in accordance with the EFSA Procedure for identifying and handling potential conflicts of interest (6). The extent of any potential conflict of interest will be taken into account in deciding whether an applicant will be further evaluated.
For more information regarding the selection of members of the Scientific Committee and Panels please refer to the ‘Decision of the Executive Director concerning the selection of members of the Scientific Committee, Scientific Panels and external experts’
http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/keydocs/docs/expertselection.pdf
6.   Reserve list and appointment

Applicants who are found to meet the requirements for membership of any of the Scientific Panels or of the Scientific Committee may be appointed as members for a three-year mandate, on the basis of a decision by EFSA Management Board on a proposal by EFSA Executive Director.
Before appointment, EFSA reserves the right to check the application of applicants considered for membership against documents and certificates in order to confirm the accuracy and eligibility of the application.
Applicants who are found to meet the requirements for membership but are not appointed as members may be included in the reserve list.
Applicants may, with their prior consent, be assigned to a Scientific Panel even if they did not specifically apply for membership of that Panel. They may be also invited to contribute as external experts to the activities of a Scientific Panel or the Scientific Committee or of one of the working groups of the Scientific Panels and the Scientific Committee.
Members of the Scientific Committee or of Scientific Panels may be replaced or, according to the circumstances, their number may be increased. Replacing or new members will be selected from the reserve list, and will be proposed by the Executive Director to the Management Board, following consultation with the Chair of the Scientific Committee or Scientific Panel concerned.
7.   Expert database

All eligible candidates will be invited to apply to EFSA’s expert database.
For more information regarding EFSA’s expert database:
http://www.efsa.europa.eu/EFSA/AboutEfsa/WhoWeAre/efsa_locale-1178620753812_1178712806106.htm
8.   Independence and declarations of commitment and interest

The members of the Scientific Committee and of the Scientific Panels are appointed in a personal capacity. Applicants are required to include a declaration that they will undertake to act independently of any outside influence as well as a declaration of interests which may be deemed to be prejudicial to their independence (see eligibility criterion (iv)). Applicants are responsible for the content of the declaration submitted which will be assessed by EFSA according to the EFSA Procedure for identifying and handling potential conflicts of interest.
See below some examples of what is considered a Conflict of Interest:
—   example 1: a member of a given Scientific Panel owns shares in several companies producing or marketing products whose safety is assessed by that very Scientific Panel/Committee,
—   example 2: a member of a given Scientific Panel is hired by an association of producers as independent consultant to provide scientific advice on the very products whose safety is assessed by that very Scientific Panel/Committee.
For more information regarding declarations of interests:






 


EFSA policy on declarations of interests
http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/keydocs/docs/doipolicy.pdf










 


Guidance document on declarations of interest
http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/keydocs/docs/doiguidance.pdf










 


Procedure for identifying and handling potential conflicts of interest
http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/keydocs/docs/doiconflicts.pdf




9.   Equal opportunities

EFSA takes great care to apply the principles of equal treatment in its procedures.
10.   Submission of applications

Applicants are requested to submit their application together with declaration of interests electronically through the EFSA’s website: http://www.efsa.europa.eu
Applications will be deemed admissible only if a duly completed online application form is submitted. Applications sent by registered mail will be exceptionally accepted, in case of a serious failure in the online IT system.
Applications delivered via electronic mail will not be accepted.
Applicants are kindly invited to fill in their application form in English in order to facilitate the selection procedure.
All applicants will be informed by mail about the outcome of the selection process.
The personal information EFSA requests from applicants will be processed in line with Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2000 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the EU institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data (7).
The purpose of the data processing is to manage applications for membership of the EFSA Scientific Committee or Panels.
11.   Closing date for sending applications

Applications must be submitted no later than 31 May 2011 at midnight (local time, GMT + 1). For those sent by registered mail, the postmark date will serve as a proof.

Please note that, due to the large number of applications we receive, when reaching the deadline for submission of applications, the system may have problems to process the large amounts of data. We therefore advise the applicants to send in their application well ahead of the closing date.


Note:

In the event of inconsistency or discrepancy between the English version and any of the other linguistic versions of this publication, the English language version shall prevail.


(1)  For more information refer to: http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/keydocs/docs/paneloperation.pdf

(2)  For more information refer to: http://www.efsa.europa.eu/efsa_rep/repository/documents/Experts_compensation_guide.pdf

(3)  ‘Thorough knowledge’ shall be intended as corresponding to level B2 or higher (i.e. levels C1 and C2) as specified in the Council of Europe reference document for the European Language Portfolio (‘Common European Framework of Reference: Learning, Teaching, Assessment’). For more information please refer to http://www.coe.int/T/DG4/Portfolio/?M=/main_pages/levels.html

(4)  For more guidance on how to fill in the declaration, please refer to the Guidance document on declarations of interest, available on EFSA’s website at http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/keydocs/docs/doiguidance.pdf

(5)  Please see section 8 of the present call on Independence and declarations of commitment and interest.

(6)  Available on EFSA’s website at http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/keydocs/docs/doiconflicts.pdf

(7)  OJ L 8, 12.1.2001, p. 1.