Time for CHANGE: system-level interventions for bringing forward the date of effective use of NAMs in regulatory toxicology
What makes CHANGE a unique contribution to the challenge of NAM uptake are the following four key approaches being taken to the project, that we expand upon throughout this manuscript:
1/An emphasis on effective use of NAMs, whereby we do not view the use of NAMs as a goal in itself, rather that there should be an effective regulatory infrastructure enabling effective use of actionable evidence created by NAMs, reflecting the goals and values of the stakeholders that the infrastructure is intended to serve.
2/A longitudinal, iterated, and interdisciplinary methodology, whereby we seek to explore participants’ experience of the use of NAM data in relation to their goals and use this as data to identify and prioritise areas for possible intervention to promote effective use of NAMs.
3/A focus on “system factors”, i.e. modifiable elements of the supra-, inter- and intra-organisational structures within which NAM-based research is conducted, interpreted, and acted on, which we believe are under-researched and may provide new opportunities for interventions to bring forward the date of effective use of NAMs in regulatory toxicology.
4/An ambition of inclusivity and a global outlook, in which we are taking a purposefully cross-sector and international approach to project participation, aiming to cover not only those who create, analyse, and use NAM data (researchers, risk assessors, and risk managers respectively), but also those who are impacted by the decisions taken supported by NAM data (e.g. civil society, workers, communities and others that are impacted by regulatory decisions).