Twenty years of the PNR EST: research funding should be maintained
The main funder of occupational health research in France
The National Research Programme for Environmental and Occupational Health was launched in 2006. From the very outset, its aim was to fund research that could be used for scientific expert appraisals and public policymaking in the fields of environmental and occupational health and safety.
Every year, the PNR EST attracts large numbers of applicants and finances between 30 and 40 projects, with an annual budget of between 6 and 7 million euros. Over the past two decades, nearly a thousand different research teams have been involved.
Its appeal stems primarily from the specific nature of environmental and occupational health research, which sometimes lacks support from other sources and requires researchers from different disciplines to join forces to tackle common issues. This research fills gaps in key data needed for assessing health risks.
In particular, the programme has helped to build a scientific community focused on topics such as physical agents (noise pollution, non-ionising radiation and light pollution) and occupational health. The PNR EST is currently the main funder of occupational health research in France.
Essential data for supporting public policymaking
The PNR EST plays an important role in the production of scientific expert appraisals, primarily through the results of the research it funds: for example, 10% of the scientific publications resulting from projects supported by the PNR EST have been cited in ANSES's expert appraisals. Certain publications have also been referenced in expert appraisals by other institutions or cited in international public policies.
Moreover, through the support it offers, the PNR EST enables the scientific community to get organised and mobilise its resources. It raises awareness among scientists about the knowledge needed for health risk assessments; in fact, many researchers involved in the PNR EST have joined ANSES’s expert groups.
For science to sustain expertise, expertise must inspire science. Through the PNR EST, scientists are paying attention to the Agency’s expert appraisals and the need for knowledge to answer the questions raised by society.
The funded research has provided input for scientific debates and helped to shape public policy. Examples include the work that contributed to bisphenol A being banned in food containers in France, and the creation of an occupational disease table for ovarian and laryngeal cancers linked to asbestos exposure.
Support for innovative research
For many scientific teams, the PNR EST represents a useful step towards gaining visibility and developing their work.
The programme has enabled many researchers to explore new topics or approaches, thanks in particular to funding for feasibility studies. This initial work serves as a starting point for more extensive research that takes place over many years.
For example, PNR EST funding was the first step before the launch of the Cosmos-France study on the link between mobile phone use and health, as well as the SEPAGES cohort for monitoring exposure to air pollution during pregnancy and its effect on health.
Over the course of its two decades of existence, the PNR EST has supported innovative approaches. In particular, it funded one of the first French studies on environmental health to incorporate social sciences and a citizen science approach: the Fos-Epseal project (a participatory environmental health study rooted in the local industrial areas of Fos-sur-Mer and Port-Saint-Louis, and Saint-Martin-de Crau). Residents and workers in the towns under study were closely involved at every stage of the research.
Attentive to society’s concerns
The programme maintains a close dialogue with civil society. ANSES’s stakeholder dialogue committees help to develop research topics for investigation. The Agency's scientific conferences, which present the results of funded projects each year, constitute a valued forum for discussion between researchers, organisations and other interested parties, fostering the sharing of knowledge and new scientific collaborations.
Over the past 20 years, the PNR EST has evolved to keep abreast of society’s concerns and needs for knowledge. This momentum will be maintained in the coming years, with increased research into animal and plant health as well as ecosystems, in order to fully address the challenges of the "One Health" approach.
Several events are planned to mark the 20th anniversary of the PNR EST
From May to October, ANSES is organising four themed webinars devoted to funded projects addressing major health issues:
Thursday 28 May 2026, 11.00 am to 12.30 pm
From micro- and nanoplastics to PFAS: research into these forms of diffuse pollution
Thursday 25 June 2026, 11.00 am to 12.30 pm
Climate change: what are the implications for all types of health?
Registration link to follow
Thursday 24 September 2026, 11.00 am to 12.30 pm
Pesticides: effects on the health of humans and ecosystems
Registration link to follow
Thursday 15 October 2026, 11.00 am to 12.30 pm
Environmental pollution, reproductive and perinatal health
Registration link to follow
Also coming: a webinar for the general public hosted by The Conversation this autumn, a special issue of *Cahiers de la Recherche* marking the 20th anniversary of the PNR EST, and articles in The Conversation on projects funded by the PNR EST.