European and international institutions
Cooperation with multiple partners
INRS action is expressed through its participation in the work of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (OSHA) in Bilbao, Spain, its leadership role in European projects and its presence within international institutions.
European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA)
Since 1998, INRS has been a major partner of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work in Bilbao, Spain. Cooperation with EU-OSHA enables INRS to exchange on common working themes (human-machine interfaces, carcinogens, biological risks and psychosocial risks, etc), and to build networks of experts that are useful in implementing its program of activities.
INRS is also EU OSHAs’ partner in France for implementing the job-specific applications of the Online interactive Risk Assessment (OiRA) tool. This project, deployed by EU-OSHA, provides partners (public authorities of Member States, OSH bodies, social partners, etc.) with a tool generator and assistance for developing and hosting data. About 20 OIRA sector-specific applications have been created by INRS at the national level.
European Commission
The reinforcement of co-operation with counterpart institutes is also expressed through participation in joint projects, in particular those funded by the European Framework Programs for Research and Development (Horizon 2020 and now horizon Europe program). At the European level, INRS took part or is taking part in the following EC-funded research projects such as Smartnanotox (completed in 2020) and HBM4EU.
INRS is also involved in two projects related to the measurement or characterization of nano-objects in the context of a mandate given by the Commission to the European Standardisation Committee.
International Labour Organization (ILO)
INRS has worked with the International Labour Organization (ILO) for many years, in particular by organising events for the World Day for Safety and Health at Work held every 28 April. INRS is also a member of the steering committee of ILO’s International Occupational Safety and Health Knowledge Network (CIS centers).
World Health Organization (WHO)
INRS has been an occupational health partner of the World Health Organization (WHO) for several years.
Today INRS is actively involved in the International Chemical Safety Cards (ICSC) project, a joint venture between the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO), with the cooperation of the European Commission. INRS has been involved for many years in this WHO working group in charge of developing international chemical safety cards, in which take part experts from several international institutions, counterparts and partners of INRS (NIOSH in the USA, IRSST in Quebec, Canada, FIOH in Finland, INSST in Spain, etc.).