97 researchers shall provide public authorities with independent assessments about food and the environment

The 97 researchers will contribute independent scientific assessments, providing public authorities with a sound basis for decisions in the areas of food and the environment.

VKM prepares scientific risk assessments and knowledge syntheses commissioned by, among others, the Norwegian Food Safety Authority and the Norwegian Environment Agency. The assessments support knowledge-based public administration and form the basis for regulations and measures.

There were 158 applicants for the new committee. The 97 appointed members hold doctoral degrees, represent 25 different research and knowledge institutions, and come from different parts of Norway and Scandinavia.

When carrying out assignments for VKM, the members are professionally independent and participate on the basis of their scientific expertise. In this capacity, they do not represent the institution that employs them.

New Chair and Deputy Chair of the Steering Committee

Hugo de Boer, Professor of Biosystematics and Research Director at the Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, has been appointed Chair of VKM’s Steering Committee. He also chairs the Panel on CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

Tor Arne Strand, Professor at Innlandet Hospital Trust and the University of Bergen, and Chair of the Panel on Nutrition, has been appointed Deputy Chair of the Steering Committee.

The Steering Committee consists of the chairs of VKM’s ten scientific panels.

“We have many experienced and highly qualified researchers who are well acquainted with VKM’s way of working, while the new members bring fresh knowledge and new perspectives. This creates a good balance within the committee and strengthens our ability to examine complex issues from a range of scientific perspectives,” says Tore Skeidsvoll Tollersrud, Director of VKM.