The funding is part of the 'Non-animal models: acceptance and implementation' program of the Dutch Research Agenda (NWA) and this project will focus on the underlying societal barriers, acceptance of existing animal-free approaches, and stakeholders attitudes to animal-free models.
The project was developed by Prof Ingrid Visseren-Hamakers (Environmental Governance and Politics, Radboud University) and Prof Merel Ritskes-Hoitinga, (Evidence-based transition to animal-free innovations, Utrecht University) to analyse how the transition to animal-free safety assessment can be governed. The interdisciplinary consortium will experiment with transformative governance approaches, focusing on Next Generation Risk Assessment (NGRA), and the transition to animal-free safety assessment for chemicals and pharmaceuticals in the EU, the Netherlands, and the USA.
The consortium is composed of Radboud University, Utrecht University, TNO, TenWise, Johns Hopkins University, The Good Lobby, Prof. dr. Howard White (consultant), Unilever, Eurogroup for Animals and PETA UK. Prof. Paul Carmichael from SEAC represents Unilever on the Consortium.