The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is seeking public participation and input from individuals and organizations for a series of town hall meetings on the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA). The town hall meetings began in Dec. 2005, and continue through March 2006 at select locations across the country.
What is NORA?
NORA is a national agenda for planning, stimulating, and supporting scientific research that will have the greatest impact for preventing work-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths. It was originally developed in 1996 in a partnership involving NIOSH and more than 500 individuals and organizations. As NORA approaches a 10-year milestone, NIOSH is hosting the public meetings to seek input on important research issues and agendas.
Who will be at the Town Hall Meetings?
Participants will include workers, professional societies, organized labor, employers, researchers, health professionals, government officials and elected representatives. Broad participation is desired. Attendees are encouraged to register (link to registration page) to be added to the agenda.
What Kind of Information is Needed?
NORA is seeking information on important occupational safety and health issues, such as: diseases, injuries, exposures, populations at risk, and needs of the occupational safety and health system. Input is also requested on the types of research and partners needed to make a difference. The following types of information may help identify the areas where new research will make the greatest contributions to preventing work-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths: 1) numbers of workers at risk; 2) seriousness of the issue; and 3) probability that new information and approaches will make a difference.
Given that NORA represents a broad-based partnership involving government, business, the worker community, academia, and others, public input is essential for planning future directions for the initiative, based on a focus on eight different industry sector groups. Each town hall meeting will be structured to provide an opportunity for regional and multi-sector input during the morning, followed where appropriate by an afternoon session to focus on individual sector issues.
Participate online or in person
NIOSH asks that all participants register for the meetings online or at the day of the meeting. Participants wishing to speak are encouraged to register early. The public meetings are open to all workers, professional societies, organized labor, employers, researchers, health professionals, government officials and elected officials. Broad participation is desired.
The public meetings will address both regional and sector-specific priorities for research. During the morning session, stakeholders will be invited to speak for three to five minutes on an important occupational safety and health issue, including those that occur in multiple sectors. Where noted in the agenda, the afternoon session will focus on sector-specific problems facing the nation. Again, participants will be asked to make three- to five-minute presentations describing what they perceive to be the top concerns within their sector or sub-sector. Participants are encouraged to attend both the regional and sector-specific sessions, or they may elect to participate in only one session.
Learn more about NORA , its accomplishments, and how you contribute to its future: www.cdc.gov/niosh/nora.