Overview
The world economic crisis has highlighted a need to reassess public resource allocation for animal health services, and to question the balance of cost sharing with the private sector. Added to this general economic context, animal diseases are emerging with increasing frequency (BSE, influenza viruses, blue tongue, Schmallenberg virus) and existing diseases have re-emerged.
Therefore, animal health professionals need to have an understanding of the application of economics to animal health, and the current economic crisis makes the need for these skills all the more urgent.
Educational materials for under-/postgraduate and practicing animal health professionals were inadequately developed and rarely institutionalized. NEAT aimed to enable a wider cadre of people to teach economics and to create educational materials to promote the best use of economics by animal health professionals. Existing educational material and activities were therefore mapped, and future needs and gaps were identified. The NEAT consortium designed and developed educational materials and methods, disseminated them to partners and end-users, and assessed the impact of the materials developed.
Vision and mission
Vision
Improving education in the Economics of Animal Health
Mission
Our
mission was to ensure that organizations and businesses working with animal health professionals in Europe and beyond had access to professionals educated in the economics of animal health by enhancing general understanding and awareness for competency needs, and by creating a sustainable, interdisciplinary network for sharing and developing open access delivery, methods, educational material, ideas, and other teaching resources.
Objectives
Our academic network aimed to strengthen and enhance the use of economics in animal health in higher education and professional environments throughout Europe.
The following strategic and operational objectives were defined:
- Improving organizational coordination for those developing and delivering curricula and course content on economics for animal health professionals (all WPs).
- Identifying teaching and training needs for undergraduate, postgraduate, and established professionals (WP2 and WP3).
- Developing curricula, course content, teaching, and training materials for undergraduate, postgraduate, and established professionals (WP4).
- Disseminating curricula, course content, teaching, and training materials (WP5).
- Evaluating the delivery of teaching and training materials (WP6).
Organisation
The Royal Veterinary College, London is the lead coordinator of this consortium, providing financial management and strategic direction of the network activities.
Each of the six workpackages of this project is led by one or two partners who are responsible for the management and implementation of the activities in their workpackage. They are supported by the coordinator and core partners who act as consultants in the consortium and provide advice on all network activities. The management board includes all WP leaders, is the decision-making body and provides assistance to the lead coordinator.
The advisory board (6 members) advises the management board on all education and training related issues.
All 60 partners are accomplishing defined tasks with the support of the workpackage leaders, the core partners and the coordinator. 41 associated partners support the consortium and provide it with facilities or assistance that enhance the quality of work.
Work packages
Work package 1 assures the network management and coordination, as well as an efficient project-administration (including the financial management) and an effective communication.
Network coordinator and workpackage leader: Royal Veterinary College, United Kingdom, co-leader Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Germany
Work package 2 provides an overview of the status quo of the current economics applied to animal health teaching activities, techniques and good practices. It collects and analyses data, materials, and methods already available and creates a database to save and represent data and current teaching materials.
Leader: Agrifood Research Finland, Finland
Work package 3 assesses the current needs for economics applied to animal health teaching, training and research in Europe. It identifies new developments and trends that will define future needs and defines goals for teaching and training.
Leaders: Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Toulouse, France and Università degli Studi di Bologna, Italy
Work package 4 develops and tests new teaching materials and innovative teaching tools for teaching and training of animal health professionals at the undergraduate and postgraduate level.
It organizes and provides courses for staff of veterinary faculties or organizations involved in training and working with animal health professionals.
Leaders: Wageningen University, Netherlands and University of Zagreb, Croatia
Work package 5 promotes communication within the network and beyond. It develops a tool to support information exchange and to disseminate the teaching material and curriculum developed in the project. It supports the network to reach self-sustainability.
Leader: Norwegian School of Veterinary Science, Norway
Work package 6 evaluates NEAT and its outputs: It assesses the impact of the novel teaching materials developed and collects data on the adoption and adaptation of economics skills in the trainees’ working environment.
Leader: Federation of Veterinarians in Europe, Belgium
