Applications from interested individuals must include:

• a cover letter explaining the candidate’s motivation for participating in the Committee for Guidance and Dialogue with Society;

• a comprehensive and detailed resume outlining the candidate’s professional, community, and/or personal background, as it relates to the agency’s activities;

• a public declaration of interests to be completed via the agency’s application available at the following link: http://dpi.santepubliquefrance.fr

Only complete applications will be considered. Applications must be sent to the following address: appelacandidatureCOD@santepubliquefrance.fr, by October 1, 2016.

Applications will be reviewed by a committee convened by the agency.

Declarations of interest will be reviewed by the Internal Ethics Committee. Members’ declarations of interest will be published on the Santé publique France website. They must be updated by the declarant as soon as any changes occur regarding the declared ties or new ties are established. They will be updated at least once a year.

The composition of the Committee for Guidance and Dialogue with Society will be proposed by the Director General for appointment to the Board of Directors during the fourth quarter of 2016.

Santé publique France

Santé publique France is a public institution of the State created in 2016. It was formed through the merger of the InVS, the Inpes, the Éprus, and Adalis and operates under the supervision of the Minister of Health.

Santé publique France is a leading public health center dedicated to protecting the health of the population. Its mission is to understand, explain, preserve, and promote the health of all French citizens. It is also capable of responding to public health crises. The agency’s work is based on scientific expertise in the health field linked to research. It is open to societal issues and civil society, with a view to contributing to a process of health democracy.

The missions of Santé publique France are:

• Epidemiological observation and surveillance of the health status of the population;

• Monitoring health risks threatening the population;

• Health promotion and the reduction of health risks;

• Developing prevention and health education;

• Preparation for and response to health threats, alerts, and crises;

• Issuing public health alerts.

To carry out its missions, Santé publique France aims to adopt an approach that:

• Listen to its entire environment and stakeholders to better anticipate, understand, and, above all, take into account their needs and expectations;

• Refine its strategy (and programmatic guidelines) based on this close attention and consideration;

• Concretely translate its openness and attention to stakeholders and the expression of their expectations into the execution of its missions through its programs and projects according to procedures it defines (with particular attention to matters covered by the Health Expertise Charter);

• Align its actions with the evolving dynamics of its environment, and reduce the risk of overlooking or underestimating stakeholders’ specific concerns or knowledge regarding public health and in relation to the agency (risk management);

• Be capable of collecting, particularly through hearings, the data and information held by stakeholders in the context of producing opinions and recommendations (see Charter of Expertise).

Missions and Activities of the Committee for Guidance and Dialogue with Society

Santé publique France is a public health agency open to the changes of its time: democratic requirements, participation, transparency, information, and ethics. To address these challenges, the agency has decided to create a Committee for Strategic Guidance and Dialogue with Society. The Committee’s role is to gather the expectations of civil society to anticipate societal challenges, as well as to facilitate the implementation of initiatives undertaken, with a constant focus on integrating health into all policies, as close as possible to citizens.

The Committee serves as a forum for reflection and proposal regarding the agency’s strategic directions.

Its missions are as follows² (Art. R.1413-26):

• To contribute to the quality and relevance of the agency’s actions by providing its perspective on current and future public health issues and the societal questions they raise;

• Propose priorities within the agency’s areas of activity and guidelines for its annual work program;

• Contribute to improving the agency’s communication methods, particularly during health crises, in accordance with the guidelines defined by the Ministry of Health and the conditions for disseminating public health knowledge to various segments of the population;

• Enable the agency to contribute to public debates on public health issues, particularly by presenting available scientific knowledge and, where appropriate, the context of scientific uncertainty within which health decisions must be made.

The Committee’s activities:

• The activities of the Committee for Guidance and Dialogue with Society are defined within the framework of the agency’s internal regulations and the resources allocated to it.

• The Committee’s mission is to formulate proposals and/or contributions (taking into account divergent and/or minority opinions). To this end, meeting minutes are prepared.

Composition of the Committee for Guidance and Dialogue with Society³

General composition of the Committee and term of office:

• The Committee for Policy Guidance and Dialogue with Society (COD) must maintain as close contact as possible with stakeholders in the field, professionals, associations, etc.;

• The Committee consists of at least 10 and no more than 20 members. The number of its members is set within these limits by the Board of Directors (Art. R.1413-25);

• It comprises: - A Chair, elected by the Committee members from among their ranks. The Chair attends meetings of the Board of Directors of Santé publique France in an advisory capacity (Art. R.1413-11); - A Vice-Chair, elected from among its members. The Vice-Chair replaces the Chair in the Chair’s absence; - Qualified individuals;

• Members are appointed for a term of four years, renewable once, by decision of the Chair of the Board of Directors following approval of the list of members by the Board of Directors, from among individuals recognized for their knowledge and experience in the Agency’s areas of expertise, and after review of their conflicts of interest, as defined by the provisions of Article L.1451-1 (Art. R.1413-25);

• In the event of a vacancy, they are replaced under the same conditions for the remainder of the term of the person they are replacing (Art. R.1413-25).

Recruitment of Committee Members

Santé publique France is issuing a call for applications to select Committee members. For each of the described areas, the qualified candidate must have an interest in the missions of Santé publique France and be recognized for their knowledge, experience, and expertise in the relevant fields (see the Santé publique France website for details).

To this end, they must submit a letter of application, a resume, and a statement of interest:

• the letter of application should outline the candidate’s motivation for joining the Committee;

• the curriculum vitae must be complete and detailed and outline the candidate’s professional and/or organizational and/or personal background, as it relates to the agency’s activities;

• the public declaration of interests must be completed via the agency’s application available at the following link: http://dpi.santepubliquefrance.fr

The principle is that of participation in a personal capacity.

The agency is specifically seeking qualified individuals in the following areas:

• health democracy and/or stakeholder engagement, through the completion of projects, studies, or participation in representative bodies of the healthcare system or public debate;

• humanities and social sciences, public health, health prevention and promotion, through professional experience and/or holding a Ph.D. in one of the relevant disciplines;

• information, new media, social media, and connected health, through holding a press card, managing a news website or blog, or developing health-related applications;

• social and health vulnerability, through engagement with people in precarious situations, people with disabilities, migrants, and/or those working in the field of social intervention;

• childhood and youth: through engagement with issues related to early childhood, school health, student health, and/or the development, implementation, and evaluation of dedicated initiatives, or through professional experience within maternal and child health (PMI) networks;

• political or community involvement in local areas, through holding an elected office in a local government, a position, or professional experience within an association or organization focused on citizens’ living conditions and social housing;

• practicing healthcare professionals, through holding a degree in medicine, pharmacy, state-certified nursing, or midwifery;

• professional experience within an organization active in the field of mutual aid, and a member of the social and solidarity economy.

The agency is seeking individuals with an interest in and experience related to its mission of serving all populations, across all stages of life (from the youngest to seniors), and in all settings and environments (at home, at work, etc.) to promote the health of all.

Independence and Declaration of ^Interest4

• Members of Santé publique France’s governing bodies must complete a declaration of interest, submitted in accordance with the standard form annexed to the decree of July 5, 2012, establishing the standard form for the public declaration of interests referred to in Article L.1451-1 of the Public Health Code;

• This declaration must be submitted at the time of application;

• If the candidate is selected as a member of the Steering and Dialogue Committee, their declaration of interest will be published, with the exception of personal data, on the Santé publique France website, prior to the Committee’s first meeting.

Selection of Candidates

• Candidates will be selected based on a review of their resume, application letter, and declaration of interests;

• A selection will then be made from among the applicants to remain within the limits set by the Board of Directors (at least 10 and no more than 20 members);

• The required qualifications outlined above will be taken into account, based on the skills and experience described below: the goal will be to strive for balance in terms of the profiles sought, geographic representation, professional diversity, gender parity, and age distribution.

Expected Skills and Experience

Members of the Steering Committee are selected based on two types of criteria:

Inclusion Criteria

• Candidates have an interest in the missions of Santé publique France and its Steering Committee’s commitment to openness and dialogue;

• The candidate’s participation is valuable due to their skills and/or experience in relevant fields, their ability to provide information, their on-the-ground knowledge (practical knowledge, behaviors related to a health determinant), and their capacity to engage with conflicting perspectives;

• Professional experience (within an association, media outlet, local government, etc.) that complements the candidate’s personal background is particularly recommended;

• Candidates must possess the following qualities: - the ability to move beyond their individual experience in favor of a collective vision of the issues; - motivation to engage with cross-cutting topics beyond their primary field of expertise; - a commitment to making themselves available to attend every Committee meeting; - experience speaking in public.

Exclusion criteria

• Membership in another body of the agency (Board of Directors, Scientific Council, Ethics and Professional Conduct Council);

• Direct contractual relationships or direct financial ties with the agency;

• Direct interest in an economic actor, federation, or corporate foundation directly involved in Santé publique France’s fields of activity.

Operations and workload

Operations (Art. R.1413-25)

• The Committee’s operating procedures are defined by the agency’s internal regulations;

• The Committee is convened by its chair or at the request of the director general;

• It meets at least twice a year.

Committee Secretariat

• The secretariat consists of members of the Public Health France public engagement unit, with support from representatives of Public Health France’s Scientific and International Mission (who are also responsible for the Scientific Committee and the Ethics and Professional Conduct Committee).

Workload for Members

• To ensure the Steering Committee functions effectively, it is expected to meet at least twice a year;

• Most of the work is done during meeting preparation and during the sessions;

• Additional workload may be required in the event of a public health emergency.

Additional workload for the Committee Chair

• This workload is estimated at 8 to 10 days per year;

• The Chair prepares the meeting agendas and chairs the sessions;

• He attends Board of Directors meetings;

• Presentation of the annual activity report to the Board of Directors, of which he is a member.

Compensation and expenses

• Members of the Committee for Guidance and Dialogue with Society, as well as other experts engaged by the agency, may be compensated for their participation in meetings as well as for all work, reports, and studies carried out for the agency, under conditions set by the Board of Directors;

• Members are entitled to reimbursement for travel and subsistence expenses under the conditions applicable to civilian government employees.

InVS stands for Institut de Veille Sanitaire (Institute for Health Surveillance), Inpes for Institut national de prévention et d'éducation pour la santé (National Institute for Prevention and Health Education), Eprus for Etablissement de préparation et de réponse aux urgences sanitaires (Agency for Preparedness and Response to Public Health Emergencies), and Adalis for Addictions Drogues Alcool Info Service (Addiction, Drugs, and Alcohol Information Service).

¹ Decree No. 2016-523 of April 27, 2016, on the creation of the National Public Health Agency https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/eli/decret/2016/4/27/2016-523/jo/texte.

² Decree No. 2016-523 of April 27, 2016, on the creation of the National Public Health Agency https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/eli/decret/2016/4/27/2016-523/jo/texte

³ Decree No. 2016-523 of April 27, 2016, on the creation of the National Public Health Agency https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/eli/decret/2016/4/27/2016-523/jo/texte

⁴ Law No. 2011-2012 of December 29, 2011, on strengthening the safety of medicines and health products, and the implementing decree of May 9, which includes strengthened provisions regarding professional ethics and transparency regarding conflicts of interest.