Report on Final Evaluative Stakeholder Workshop

This report presents a summary (and independent evaluation) of the 2nd BROWSE Stakeholder workshop. The overall aim of the workshop was to elicit stakeholders’ views on the outcomes of the BROWSE project, with particular emphasis on their views regarding the different exposure scenarios investigated, the models developed, and the consideration of any gender issues associated with these.

In response to the 1st stakeholder workshop (April 2011), an independent evaluator was appointed in June 2012 who provided generic advice on stakeholder consultation, monitored and reported on the planning and delivery of the 2nd BROWSE stakeholder workshop (Jun 2012-Oct 2014).

A stakeholder database of 950 stakeholder participants was developed by the project team. Care was taken in the recruitment process to ensure that stakeholders were selected from across: 1) different EU member states; 2) the 3 regional zones used in the regulation of PPPs; 3) different types of institutional or group affiliation (i.e. industry, regulators, NGOs, trade unions, and interested academics); 4) different types of expertise (i.e. risk assessment, risk communication, policy) and 5) gender. To assist stakeholders, expenses were paid to facilitate attendance. Thirty four stakeholders attended the workshop, including 15 risk assessors, 6 industry and farming organizations representatives, and 13 drawn from a mix of NGOs, advocacy groups, risk managers, the EU commission, and EFSA. These included individuals who also served as advisors to the project through membership of its Advisory Panel (AP).

All project partners contributed to the development of workshop documentation (and presentations). WP 1/2/3 produced a summary document (of no more than 10 pages) of their models, together with detailed technical report, and a 20 minute oral presentation. WP6 produced a 20 minute oral presentation about the work undertaken on risk indicators, and on the new open access web portal, OpenTEA. The summary documents and technical reports were distributed, 10 working days in advance, to all participating stakeholders.

The 1 day workshop included a mix of plenary presentations, Q&A sessions, break out groups and networking opportunities. During the workshop, a team of five trained note takers took detailed notes during all plenary and breakout sessions. The final set of notes were analysed and a set of stakeholder issues and recommended actions were identified.

The key stakeholder issues that emerged were associated with the: 1) definitions used in the development of the BROWSE models; 2) routes of, and factors influencing, exposure to PPPs; 3) transparency and clarity of the BROWSE models and documentation; 4) strengths and weaknesses of the BROWSE Exposure models; 5) conservatism of the BROWSE models; 6) possible impact of the BROWSE exposure models for the assessment and regulation of PPPs; 7) harmonisation with other EU projects and regulatory activities; 8) involvement of stakeholders in the BROWSE project and 9) recommendations for action.

The recommendations and requested actions of the stakeholders were taken into account by BROWSE project partners when finalising the project outputs during 2014. This report includes an itemised list of how the recommendations and requested actions were addressed.