Ss01-01 the Sheffield Group and Its Role in Global Osh Research Activities

Introduction In 1988, a group of directors from national health and safety research facilities agreed that there would be value in creating a global network to discuss high level issues relating to the delivery of occupational health and safety research. The group held this first meeting in Sheffield (hence the “Sheffield Group”), and the Director of the UK facility was elected as the permanent Chair in perpetuity. The original membership included national labs from Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Hungary, Norway, Netherlands, Poland, United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Russian Federation, Israel, Turkey, Finland, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Sweden and the USA. Materials and Methods Meetings of the Sheffield Group are held annually, hosted by one of the national labs. The purpose is to keep directors informed about programmes of research and national policy issues, and occasional collaborations across Institutes are also agreed. In 2003, PEROSH emerged from the Sheffield Group as a more formal mechanism to support joint research activities in Europe. Results The most recent meeting in Korea showcased the value of this network and provided insights which would not have been delivered through any other network. Conclusions The Sheffield Group is the only global network which supports directors of national occupational health and safety facilities. This not only allows a unique agenda of topics to be discussed but also helps to define why such national facilities are needed and the added value that they bring to national health and safety systems.