Proposed EMA relocation: staff survey update
Readers in the life science sector will be aware of the proposed relocation of the EMA away from London to another European city in the wake of the Brexit referendum vote. This week, the EMA has published a press release, with a rather alarming sub-heading:
"Staff survey indicates that the future of public health in Europe is at stake"
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| Barcelona - one of the top 5? |
The press release explains that to complement the European Commission's assessment of all bids for the relocation of the Agency submitted by Member States that will be published later this month, the EMA is making available the results of its most recent staff retention survey. The survey indicates that for 65% of EMA staff, the new EMA location will be a determining factor in their decision-making whether to relocate or not. The vote on the EMA's new host city is due to take place in November 2017.
A summary of the results of the survey has been published on the EMA website and can be found here, along with an explanation of the methodology involved. Each candidate host city is attributed a number, and so remains anonymous. (By way of background the full list of the candidate host cities along with details of their bids can be found here.)
A summary of the results of the survey has been published on the EMA website and can be found here, along with an explanation of the methodology involved. Each candidate host city is attributed a number, and so remains anonymous. (By way of background the full list of the candidate host cities along with details of their bids can be found here.)
The five candidate host cities with the most favourable feedback in the survey range from staff retention rates of 65% to 81%. The lowest had a measly staff retention rate of 6% (the author is having fun trying to guess the identify of candidate 19...). In terms of impact on the EMA's workings, the survey notes that staff retention rates of 65%+ (for the five highest rated candidates) "meets EMA requirements" but even in this scenario, there would still be the possibility of some delays for the approval of new medicines and safety monitoring, and some public health initiatives would move at a slower pace. The operational implications for the lowest ranked cities are said to be a "public health crisis".
This GuestKat has heard whisperings in recent weeks about likely staff retention rates after the EMA's relocation, and this survey and press release presents a fascinating insight. The fact that the EMA has been so transparent in releasing the information suggests that the issue of staff retention is being taken very seriously by the agency.
This GuestKat has heard whisperings in recent weeks about likely staff retention rates after the EMA's relocation, and this survey and press release presents a fascinating insight. The fact that the EMA has been so transparent in releasing the information suggests that the issue of staff retention is being taken very seriously by the agency.
