Biosafety Professional Competence: work in progress

The need for well defined tasks and skills of the Biosafety Professional (BSP) has been a subject of discussion at the International Biosafety Working Group (IBWG), by several national organisations and is a subject of concern of the WHO.

BSA has defined two ways of recognizing the qualifications of a BSP, one based on a degree and experience -the registered biosafety professional (RBP) - and the other based on a degree and an exam - the certified biosafety professional (CBSP).

European Directives do not define the role of a competent individual - a biosafety professional- appointed to coordinate, and provide advice and guidance on biosafety management issues.

The Laboratory Biorisk Management Standard (CWA 15793) states:

Top management shall

• take ultimate responsibility for the organization's biorisk management system;
• ensure that roles, responsibilities and authorities related to biorisk management are defined, documented and communicated to those who manage, perform and verify work associated with the control of biological agents and toxins;
• demonstrate its commitment by ensuring the availability of resources to establish, implement, maintain and improve the biorisk management system.

EBSA believes that it is crucial to identify competency requirements in order to understand training needs, and develop suitable programs. Therefore EBSA created a Task Group - the BSP Competence Task Group - that represents a number of European countries and different work environments. The group started by a tour de table to understand the definition of the biosafety professional, tasks and training requirements across the countries represented within the group. It was quickly apparent that many differences exist and not all countries define the role of the BSP.

Learn more about country differences ...

EBSA believes that the best way forward is through a CEN Workshop Agreement (CWA) process to reach consensus across Europe and beyond. EBSA in association with CEN and NEN, the Dutch normalization body, will be launching a CWA on Biosafety Professional Competence to define the BSP's

• role and place within the organization
  
• tasks
  
• education, experience and skills
• curriculum to achieve skills
  
• framework for training programmes
• framework for certifying BSPs

EBSA BSP Competence Task Group has produced a draft document that will serve as starting point for discussions at the CWA. In this work the group has collaborated with the Swiss curriculum initiative and has received input from the UK initiative.