EFSA ISA scheme: WHY, WHAT, HOW

infographic 2024 efsa isa scheme

EFSA may obtain expert opinions and advice in specific cases from Individual Scientific Advisors (ISA) based on a fixed daily remuneration. The ISA scheme complements and supports EFSA’s scientific work through the provision of expert advice, without overlapping or substituting the EFSA Panel and Working Groups Experts system.

The procedure to select and contract such expert advice is based on Article 237 of the Financial Regulation (Remunerated external experts). The scheme is different to public procurement as it does not foresee competitive price tendering as the price is fixed by EFSA. The scheme is limited to “natural persons” who are selected on the basis of their professional capacity.

Fields in which EFSA needs ISA Experts

  • Ecology
  • Chemistry
  • Food / Feed Technology
  • Exposure Assessment
  • Epidemiology
  • Genetics
  • Human nutrition
  • Regulatory Science
  • Human medicine
  • Mathematics/ Statistics/ Biostatistic/ Bioinformatics
  • Social Science
  • Plant Sciences
  • Toxicology
  • Pharmacology
  • Veterinary Science

Tasks on which ISA Experts gives advice

  • Provide preliminary completeness check of dossiers
  • Provide advice in relation to risk a-assessment (e.g. literature analysis, systematic review, supporting an expert knowledge elicitation
  • Data validation, data extraction, data appraisal, collation and processing, summarizing and analysis
  • Support the design of social research and generation of insights to ensure quality throughout EFSA risk communication (audience-first approach)
  • A full list of tasks can be found here

Who can apply

  • Any individual (natural persons) with the required scientific profile
  • Citizens of a member state of EU or EFTA or an EU Candidate country
  • Citizens from third countries may also apply

Remuneration

Individual experts are remunerated with a fixed fee of 360 € per day.

Maximum amount that can be paid to an individual expert during the whole duration of the call (5 years) is 143.000 €.

How is the ISA Expert list established and contracts awarded

  • Individuals submit an expression of interest, via an online tool, in accordance with the rules described in the call.
  • EFSA Evaluation Committee assess the expressions of interest and draw up a list of individual experts who meet the call criteria.
  • When EFSA needs an opinion or advice on a particular task, the Science Unit will select the most suitable individual expert from the list.
  • The tasks will be formalised in a contract which defines the exact duration of the tasks and total price.

Find out more about the ISA call here.

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