Abstract
EPIC, Scottish Government's Centre of Expertise on Animal Disease Outbreaks, offers a successful and innovative model for provision of scientific advice and analysis to policy-makers in Scotland. In this paper, we describe EPIC's remit and operations, and reflect on three case studies which illustrate how the Centre of Expertise Model provides risk-based evidence through rapid access to emergency advice and analyses, estimating disease risks and improving disease detection, assessing different disease control options, and improving future risk resilience. The successes and challenges faced by EPIC and its members offer useful lessons for animal health researchers and authorities, working in contingency planning for animal health security in other countries.
Highlights
Global challenges, such as animal disease outbreaks, are complex multi-faceted problems which demand cross-cutting interdisciplinary collaboration to find scientific and technical solutions which take into consideration the political and societal dimensions of these events
The first important test for EPIC occurred not long after, when in 2007 it was requested by Scottish Government to provide evidence to underpin negotiations with local stakeholders and the European Commission to reopen livestock markets after FMD was detected in England [2]
EPIC’s research priorities align to four strategic foci which are important to Scottish Government and Defra: 1. Risk communication: Providing rapid access to emergency advice and analyses in the event of disease outbreaks, and knowledge exchange
Summary
Global challenges, such as animal disease outbreaks, are complex multi-faceted problems which demand cross-cutting interdisciplinary collaboration to find scientific and technical solutions which take into consideration the political and societal dimensions of these events. The first important test for EPIC occurred not long after, when in 2007 it was requested by Scottish Government to provide evidence to underpin negotiations with local stakeholders and the European Commission to reopen livestock markets after FMD was detected in England [2] The response to this request helped forge EPIC’s reputation for delivering robust, timely policyrelevant outputs in anticipation of, and during, disease outbreaks. The ability to provide a rapid response to emergency outbreak events is facilitated by trusted partnerships between consortium members and Scottish Government veterinarians, scientists and policy officials, and has been underpinned by sustained funding over multiple policy-cycles. The latter has been essential to build meaningful, long-lasting relationships with policymakers. EPIC’s research priorities align to four strategic foci which are important to Scottish Government and Defra: 1. Risk communication: Providing rapid access to emergency advice and analyses in the event of disease outbreaks, and knowledge exchange
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