On Monday 10 March, the first SCOPE General Advisory Board took place at the MHRA’s offices in London.
The General Advisory Board (GAB) is SCOPE’s executive guidance group, and it is chaired by Dr June Raine in her capacity as PRAC chair. The GAB will provide strategic recommendations and advice to the Work Packages, as well as providing a level of accountability for SCOPE’s work. As well as the leaders of each of the work packages from Croatia, Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Hungary and Portugal, the GAB was attended by representatives from the European Commission, Consumers Health and Food Executive Agency, World Health Organisation’s Uppsala Monitoring Centre, the European Organisation for Rare Diseases (EURORDIS), the International Society for Pharmacovigilance and the European Medicines Agency.
The meeting was very productive, and provided an opportunity for the SCOPE coordination team and work package leaders to highlight the hard work that has been put into SCOPE so far. The project is only in its fourth month, yet all the Work Packages are progressing according to plan, with huge enthusiasm from all the member states.
The GAB attendees first examined and ratified the board’s Terms of Reference, thus ensuring that its purpose and function is plainly set out. The SCOPE coordination team then presented the GAB with useful information about the project’s governance structure, as well as the financial systems that have been established.
Updates on SCOPE’s progress were provided by the coordination team and the leader of each Work Package. The expertise provided by the members of the GAB was invaluable here; excellent advice was given on issues as varied as questionnaire formats, stakeholder engagement, and the structure of other Joint Actions.
Overall, SCOPE has got off to a great start and the GAB will have an important strategic role in supporting its future success.
Anyone with any questions about SCOPE should email [email protected].
