FCT Contributes to an Article on the Link Between Science and Public Policy

The European Human Biomonitoring Initiative (HBM4EU) published an article in the International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health titled“European joint program HBM4EU – Bridging science and policy: experiences and lessons learned from the key partners in the scientific steering of the initiative”,with contributions from the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). The study analyzes the program’s experience in linking science and public policy and presents recommendations for future large-scale research projects in the fields of the environment and health.

The article was co-authored by Rita Cavaleiro of the FCT’s Department of International Relations, as part of her role as Portugal’s National Hub Contact Point for HBM4EU. Based on the experience of the partners involved, the study highlights the importance of early and ongoing involvement of policymakers, the existence of regular channels of communication between them and project leaders, and consistent support for the National Hubs.

The HBM4EU initiative, which ran from January 2017 to June 2022, brought together more than 100 institutions from 30 countries and aimed to strengthen the use of human biomonitoring in assessing population exposure to chemicals and to support the development of health protection policies. In Portugal, the participating institutions were the FCT, the Portuguese Environment Agency, the Directorate-General for Health, the Dr. Ricardo Jorge National Institute of Health, the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Lisbon, and the Lisbon School of Health Technology. The Portuguese National Hub also organized workshops dedicated to knowledge sharing and networking among researchers, students, and representatives from different sectors.

This is the second peer-reviewed scientific article involving the FCT published as part of the HBM4EU program. The first, published in 2023 in the same journal, focused on the use of human biomonitoring data to support public policy and health protection.

The most recent article is available as open access and will be included in the January 2027 issue of the International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health.