NATIONAL SERIES. Key Notes. Dual-use Biosecurity Education. Bradford Disarmament Research Centre. Strengthening Global Biosecurity

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1 Dual-use Biosecurity Education NATIONAL SERIES Key Notes Bradford Disarmament Research Centre Strengthening Global Biosecurity Division of Peace Studies University of Bradford United Kingdom 1

2 This project was kindly funded by the UK s Ministry of Defence via the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL). Project members Dr. Judi Sture is a research fellow at Bradford Disarmament Research Centre, part of the Division of Peace Studies at the University of Bradford, UK. She is also Head of the University s Graduate School where she is responsible for the research training of the University s PhD students. Dr. Masamichi Minehata is a research fellow at Bradford Disarmament Research Centre, part of the Division of Peace Studies at the University of Bradford, UK, as well as being a non-resident SPF Fellow at the Pacific Forum-Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), USA. Acknowledgements We would particularly like to thank Dr Carol Stone of DSTL for her support of this work and for her invaluable advice. Particular thanks also go to colleagues at the National Defense Medical College in Japan, the Landau Network Centro Volta in Italy and the Institute for National Security Studies in Israel who were involved in a series of surveys of the current state of biosecurity education in Europe (2008), Japan (2009), Israel (2010) and the Asia-Pacific region (2010). 1 The project could not have been successfully developed without the help of all members of Bradford Disarmament Research Centre and its project partners in the Wellcome Trust Dual-Use Bioethics Group, including colleagues at the University of Exeter, UK, University of Bath, UK and Australian National University in Canberra, Australia. Colleagues details are available at: ( All materials contained in the National Series are the sole responsibility of the individual authors. They do not necessarily reflect the view or opinions of the funders or the University of Bradford. Copyright is held by the authors and the University of Bradford, UK. Bradford Disarmament Research Centre, Division of Peace Studies, The University of Bradford, Richmond Road, Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD71DP, United Kingdom The views and opinions contained in this publication are not necessarily those of the organisations associated with the project. All rights reserved University of Bradford 2012 National Series logo credit: Lloyd Thompson Cover page: Transparent Globe by digitalart - from: 2

3 Table of Contents National Series Key Notes... 4 Background Work prior to the development of the National Series... 5 a. International surveys... 5 b. The Education Module Resource (EMR)... 5 c. The Train-the-Trainer Programme... 6 d. International Dissemination/Sharing Best-Practices... 6 e. A next step: the National Series... 6 e-1. Main Objectives... 7 e-2. A Mutually Complementary Triangle Themes: From the original EMR to the National Series Learning Outcomes a. Decisions of the Biological Weapons Convention b. The Train-the-Trainer Model c. County Specific Approach d. Key questions and assessment Content a. Format and outline b. Facilitation notes: User Guide References

4 National Series Key Notes Executive Summary The National Series (a country-specific 5 lecture series on dual-use biosecurity education) of the Education Module Resource (EMR) has been developed in order to facilitate the immediate introduction of the topic of biosecurity into the higher-education and professional science sectors of relevant countries, using specifically designed educational themes, contents and learning outcomes. The authors believe that all stakeholders in national biosecurity issues will benefit from access to these materials, including policy makers. The objective of this document - Key Notes - is to explain why the National Series has been developed and how it can be utilised. Firstly, this document illustrates the background to the National Series in the form of prior work developed by Bradford Disarmament Research Centre (BDRC); it illustrates what the role of the National Series is in taking the next step in the international promotion of biosecurity education. Secondly, some differences in the themes between the original EMR and the National Series are explained. Thirdly, the learning outcomes of the National Series are presented, followed by the outline, content and key points of each of the lectures. Finally, the assessment measures for the National Series are set out. 4

5 Background Work prior to the development of the National Series B radford Disarmament Research Centre (BDRC), part of the University of Bradford, UK has developed a project website ( with a view to helping assist in awareness-raising among life scientists about dual-use issues the situation in which peacefully-developed scientific research can be applied for destructive purposes. The BDRC project team includes research experts from Australian National University, Landau Network Centro Volta (LNCV) in Italy, National Defense Medical College (NDMC) in Japan and the Universities of Bath, Exeter, Manchester and Newcastle in the UK. The website is constructed to disseminate information on the following key stages of our strategy to promote dual-use education. a. International surveys BDRC has taken several steps in recent years to help promote education for life scientists on biosecurity issues. The first step was to survey the current state of life science degree courses in the global higher education sector in order to identify existing obstacles to the introduction of dual-use education and possible solutions to the dual use dilemma. The surveyed regions to date include Europe, Japan, Israel, and the Asia-Pacific, and the surveys are being expanded into Latin American and Africa in the near future. 2 Additionally, a large-scale survey was conducted in the United States by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and National Research Council (NRC) in Region/Country Year Institution Europe 2008 LNCV and BDRC USA 2009 AAAS and NRC Japan 2009 NDMC and BDRC Israel 2009 Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) and BDRC Asia-Pacific 2010 Exeter University and BDRC Africa/Latin America Under development b. The Education Module Resource (EMR) The second step was the development of a set of easily-accessible education resources on dual-use issues. The Education Module Resource (EMR) was produced in cooperation with the National Defense Medical College in Japan and the Landau Network Centro Volta in Italy. The EMR offers a brief but comprehensive content covering the history and national implementation of the Biological Weapons Convention, dual-use issues in the contemporary life sciences and the responsible conduct of scientific research. Being mindful that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to the education of 5

6 scientists, the EMR is freely available online and the content can be tailored in order to fit the module resource into various local educational contexts to suit local needs. It is currently available in English, Japanese, Russian, French and Romanian/Moldovan, and will shortly be available in Spanish, Urdu, Polish, Portuguese, Arabic and other languages. In order to facilitate the development of best practice so that biosecurity education can be assimilated and implemented in different academic contexts in different regions, we have tested the EMR at local universities in Italy, Japan, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands and the UK. c. The Train-the-Trainer Programme The third step was to launch an expert-level Train-the-Trainer programme (TTT), supporting educators in their own educational development and in the provision of dual-use training for their own students and other practising scientists (The course has been directed by Dr Simon Whitby of the BDRC). 4 This UK Masters-accredited course (30 UK M-level credits) is delivered as a 12-week online programme. Critical components of the programme are the 21 real-life dual-use scenarios included, drawn from a range of life science contexts. As part of the sustainability aspect of the module, students must demonstrate how they will incorporate the use of the entry-level EMR into their own existing teaching and the continuing professional development of their students and colleagues. d. International Dissemination/Sharing Best-Practices The fourth step was, in cooperation with international partners, to evidence the implementation of education about the dual-use problem at the university level in life science degree courses internationally. Work by BDRC has noted a nascent but a growing desire to address the dual-use problem in university contexts once the problem has been introduced and discussed. 5, 6,7 A clear message here is that education for life scientists, policy-makers and other stakeholders about social responsibility on dual-use issues is achievable and need not be expensive, time-consuming or overburdening. A useful degree of success can be achieved by using accessible educational resources and harnessing the goodwill of interested educators. Biosecurity Education = No One Size Fits All but it is Feasible and affordable e. A next step: the National Series In 2011, with support from the UK s Ministry of Defence, BDRC launched a new project to develop the National Series. This was achieved by building on the essential content of the current EMR but redesigning the themes, contents and learning outcomes for educational and professional contexts in specific countries. The main objective of this project is to provide user-friendly educational resources which can be utilised for the immediate introduction of short educational programmes for the higher education or professional sectors in specific countries. By providing detailed teaching guidelines (MS 6

7 Word) and teaching material (MS Power Point) for a facilitator (who may not necessarily be an expert in biosecurity issues), the National Series helps to implement active learning in the form of an effective and easily understood biosecurity education programme. This eliminates the need for countries to produce their own materials and find expert deliverers in the early stages of their engagement with biosecurity education. Here, it is useful to illustrate how the National Series was developed in order to further improve the utility of BDRC s existing EMR and TTT Programmes, and how these three projects are mutually complementary in the process of promoting biosecurity education. e-1. Main Objectives The EMR provides a freely available and openly accessible teaching material resource (21 lectures) on the legal, ethical and scientific aspects encompassing the broader concept of biosecurity issues; The Train-the-Trainer (TTT) programme develops experts who can go on to develop their own education programme(s) at their own research/academic institutions, focusing on a broader conceptualization of biosecurity issues, partly through informing life scientists about how they can best use the EMR; The National Series (NS) offers the immediate introduction of an education programme for a specific country, by providing detailed teaching guidelines and materials based on the EMR but which includes elements related to that country itself, including information highlighting that country s engagement (or lack of it) with international regimes and biosecurity education practices. EMR TTT NS 7

8 e-2. A Mutually Complementary Triangle 1. EMR-TTT Active learning: Participation in the TTT builds on the learning opportunities offered in the EMR by providing an active learning environment in which face to face (online) peerlearning and interactions with lecturers can enhance knowledge and understanding; Promotion of best practices: TTT is one of the best approaches to train professionals about how to use the EMR as part of education programmes in different institutions. In order to successfully complete the TTT, participants are required, as part of their assessment, to develop their own education programme using the EMR. In this way the implementation of the TTT promotes the best practical use of the EMR; Sustainable networking: Participants in the TTT can continuously communicate with each other through the online alumni network using Ning Software. This provides a platform where alumni can further exchange details on the progress of their own education programmes, share progress and challenges and give feedback in order to develop the existing EMR. 2. TTT-NS Common learning outcomes: the NS and the TTT programme share some learning outcomes which include an introductory understanding of legal, ethical and scientific aspects surrounding the broader concept of biosecurity; these learning outcomes are directly informed themselves by the key themes of the EMR; in turn, the learning outcomes developed by the TTT can help set out learning outcomes for the country-specific education material in the NS; Model teaching material: the NS has 5 general teaching guidelines and tailored teaching material for specific countries (for 5 lectures), both of which can be utilised by the participants of the TTT when the participants are required to develop their own education programmes in order to complete the TTT; Knowledge transfer: Participants in the TTT are able to share their own experiences from their own countries with other students and lecturers, which feeds into the development of further learning materials such as the NS. 3. NS-EMR Immediate implementation of the EMR: the NS provides user guidelines (detailed illustrations of how to set out the learning outcomes, deliver the content and measure the impact of education programmes) in order to support the tailored teaching material using the basic structure (essential content of Section A E) of the EMR; Use of the model EMR for other short courses: the 5 general teaching guidelines and 8

9 tailored teaching materials for specific countries within the NS can be utilised to develop different teaching material for different countries or institutions by using the EMR; Sense of ownership: The country-specific nature of the National Series offers a high degree of user-engagement by providing country-specific details to users; this enhances users sense of ownership of the materials enabling them to work through the EMR in a more informed manner; there is also considerable value in the localised nature of the National Series lectures, as participants in specific countries tend to want to find out where they are in relation to other countries in terms of alignment with international prohibition regimes, biosecurity education and general dual use awareness levels. By accessing versions of the National Series that focus on other countries, information about neighbours is also freely available for comparative and collaborative purposes; Support for policy makers: the freely available nature of the NS and EMR provides further useful educational and reference resources to the policy making community, both in relation to their own national interests and to those of other countries. 2. Themes: From the original EMR to the National Series The original EMR focuses on four key themes to raise awareness among life scientists and other stakeholders on the issues of: 1. Threats of biological warfare and biological terrorism (Lectures 2-6), and the international prohibition regimes that deal with those threats (Lectures 7-10); 2. The dual-use dilemma and the responsibilities of life scientists (Lectures 11-17); 3. National implementation of the BTWC (Lectures 18-20); and 4. Building an effective web of prevention to ensure the benign development of scientific research (Lecture 21). The key themes of the EMR were constructed based on the understanding that biological risks and threats are much broader than those at laboratories, as illustrated by the spectrum below. Threat Spectrum Naturally occurring pandemic Reemerging Infectious Diseases Unintended Outcomes of Research Reference: Terrence Taylor (2006) 8 Laboratory Accidents Lack of Awareness Policy Choices Crime & Counterfeit Drugs Sabotage BW Nonstate State The EMR emphasises the need to broaden the concept of biosecurity from the laboratory level to that of a multifaceted approach enabling actors and countries to deal with the wider spectrum of risks and threats. Such efforts have been conceptualised as the Web of Prevention (WoP), including consideration of, and action on, export controls; international and national responsive measures to biological and toxin weapons; biodefense capability; management of pathogens and toxins; public 9

10 health; education and awareness-raising of life scientists, and international prohibition regimes, such as the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) of 1972, the Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993 and the Geneva Protocol of With this in mind, the educational purpose of the EMR was designed to incorporate themes such as, inter alia, the potential for dual-use risks in the contemporary life sciences; the responsible conduct of research and ethical approaches among life scientists; the history of biological-warfare programmes and biological terrorism; the role of international prohibition regimes and their national implementation; the intersection of public health and national security; and the building of an effective set of preventative policies to ensure the security of benign developments in the life sciences. The National Series echoes the values of the EMR (especially the need for a wider recognition of biosecurity and the WoP) and distils some essential content from each key section of the EMR into specifically-designed educational resources suitable for use by individual countries. So the transition from the EMR to the National Series looks like this: EMR (21 lectures) A. Introduction B. Threats and prohibition regimes C. Web of prevention D. National measures E. Responsibility of life scientists National Series A. Lec 1 B. Lec 2 C. Lec 3 D. Lec 4 E. Lec 5 Keeping the basic structure (essential content of Section A E) of the EMR; Adding country-specific background in relation to biosecurity issues; Saving time and resources for professionals by providing ready-developed educational material; Enabling the immediate introduction of an educational programme in targeted educational and professional contexts for a variety of stakeholders; Facilitating the international sharing of best practices in the content and delivery of the EMR; Providing additional resources for train-the-trainer programmes. 10

11 3. Learning Outcomes a. Decisions of the Biological Weapons Convention Key learning outcomes of National Series are based on clearly stated requirements as stated in the Final Report of the Meeting of States Parties of the BTWC in The National Series aims to develop scientists and stakeholders awareness and understanding of: the risks associated with the potential misuse of the biological sciences and biotechnology, the moral and ethical obligations incumbent on those using the biological sciences, and to provide a guidance on the types of activities which could be contrary to the aims of the Convention and relevant national laws and regulations and international law. b. The Train-the-Trainer Model Bradford s Train-The-Trainer programme further developed and detailed these key themes into a range of specific learning outcomes for dual-use biosecurity education in higher education (boxed in orange below). 10 By adopting the Train-The-Trainer model, the National Series tailors the learning outcomes for country-specific contexts, again based on the requirements of the BTWC (2008): Developing scientists and stakeholders awareness and understanding of the wider concept of biosecurity' and its relationship to the concept of ethics' and a range of dual-use ethical dilemmas that arise due to the impact of science and technology on society;... and ethical approaches which provide a rationale for ethical decisions or recommendations regarding dual-use technologies;... Regardless of the countries selected for the National Series, these requirements are adopted into the NS lectures. Developing scientists and stakeholders awareness and understanding of approaches to the responsible conduct of research and other work and be able to provide justification for decisions or recommendations regarding dual-use technologies... and facilitate further research into dual-use' biosecurity issues and develop policies and practices that will enhance responsible conduct of research and other work to prevent the misuse of knowledge generated by life and associated sciences. 11

12 These are the elements which need to be adapted by users of the National Series through consideration of their particular socio-cultural as well as legal-political backgrounds. c. County Specific Approach By taking into consideration the needs of the learning outcomes, the National Series provides, where possible (subject to accessible information), country-specific information on the following elements in order to develop tailored lectures, such as: Life science and technology education in the higher education sector; Brief history and potential concerns for non-proliferation, terrorism and state level BW development or use; National legislation/regulations of the BTWC, CWC and export control provisions; Laboratory biosafety and biosecurity and other public health measures, and Existing biosecurity education programmes, and codes of conduct. The themes and content of the National Series are a mixed product of the EMR, the Train-the-Trainer programme (in the development of the NS learning outcomes) and specific background information drawn from the focus countries as illustrated below. TTT Learning outcome Original EMR Country specific information National Series 12

13 d. Key questions and assessment After completion of lectures in the National Series, students are expected to be able to answer the questions set out in the pre-assessment, including: Name three major states that had offensive biological weapons programmes during the 20 th Century; Name a bacterium, a virus and a toxin which were weaponized in the 20 th Century; Name a non-state (terrorist) use of biological weapons in recent decades; What is an export control regime? Does your country have a biological defence programme? What do the WHO Biosafety Guidelines cover? What are the national measures for implementation of the BTWC and CWC in your country? Does your country have a biosafety standard for laboratories? Does your country have a code of conduct for life scientists on biosecurity? What is the dual-use dilemma? What is the precautionary principle and how is it relevant to the dual-use dilemma? What are the options for ethical decision-making in the dual-use context? These pre-course questions are asked again at the very end of the education programme in order to measure the progress of understanding of the participating students. a. Format and outline 4. Content In order to facilitate the introduction of the dual-use biosecurity topic at the level of higher education, the National Series has been developed according to the following structure. Five lectures are 13

14 developed in Power Point format. Each lecture consists of around 30 slides (20 for Lecture 1, Introduction) with explanatory notes and references for the tutor and group exercises for the class. Explanatory notes for each slide are detailed and expanded into the form of a transcript for presentation, so as to help facilitate the direct use of slides by lecturers/facilitators who deliver the programme. The outline of the entire series consists of these themes: 1. Introduction (Lecture 1); 2. The threats of biological warfare, biological terrorism, natural outbreaks of infectious disease, laboratory risks and the unpredictable future of the life sciences (Lecture 2); 3. Biosecurity: the Web of Prevention (WoP) (Lecture 3); 4. National implementation of international agreements (Lecture 4); and 5. The responsibilities of life scientists (Lecture 5). b. Facilitation notes: User Guide For each lecture, there is a two-page set of facilitation notes. The aim of the facilitation notes is to give detailed instructions for the lecturers/facilitators who will deliver the lectures. Because of the detail in the facilitation notes and in the notes sections alongside the Power Point slides, those delivering the lectures do not need to be experts in biosecurity issues. It is perfectly possible to effectively implement this education programme via non-experts. The facilitation notes include the following elements: Illustrations of the objectives of the lecture and learning outcomes; In-class group exercises (what questions are to be discussed before reporting back to the class); Preparatory readings; A lecture plan (detailing the role of lecturers/facilitators; time allocated for each sections of 14

15 the lecture etc.) With the combination of the pre and post-course questions and in-class group exercises, the National Series is designed to provide an effective learning experience, with a good grasp of the learning outcomes among the participating students on the key aspects of dual-use biosecurity. 15

16 References 1 A series of monographs on 'Building a Sustainable Capacity in Dual-Use Bioethics' is available from: 2 Ibid. 3 National Research Council. (2009) A survey of Attitudes and Actions on Dual Use Research in the Life Sciences: A Collaborative Effort of the National Research Council and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press. Available from: 4 Train the trainer website offers detailed description of the course. See see also Bollaert, C and Whitby, S. (2011), Applied Dual-Use Biosecurity Education: An Online Train-the-Trainer Module in Developing Capacity in Dual-Use Bioethics and Biosecurity, in Millet, Piers (ed). The BWC Intersessional Process: Turning International Obligations into Effective National Action. United Nations, Geneva. 5 The BDRC held a meeting in Bradford, UK, in July 2010, on Dual-Use Education for Life Scientists: Mapping the Current Global Landscape and Developments, sponsored jointly by the UK s Economic and Social Research Council and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. Around 35 biosecurity experts, educators, and researchers from a range of institutions and government bodies from around the world, including AAAS and US National Academies of Science and delegates of the Biological Weapons Convention, presented evidence from research and experience in around 20 countries. The seminar report is available from: 6 An international workshop sponsored by the InterAcademy Panel (IAP), the International Union of Microbiological Societies and the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology was hosted by Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw in November 2009, focusing on Promoting Dual Use Education in the Life Sciences. Over 60 participants from around 25 countries attended, including representatives from UNESCO, the Implementation Support Unit of the BTWC, experts in biosecurity, bioethics and the responsible conduct of research, NGOs, and government representatives. See National Research Council. (2010) Challenges and Opportunities for Education about Dual Use Issues in the Life Sciences, Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press. Available from: 7 Rappert, B., ed. (2010) Education and ethics in the life sciences: Strengthening the prohibition of biological weapons. Canberra: Australian National University E Press. 8 Taylor, T. (2006) Safeguarding Advances in the Life Sciences, EMBO Reports. 7. pp. s61-s64 9 British Medical Association. (1999) Biotechnology, Weapons and Humanity, London: Harwood Academic Publishers; British Medical Association. (2004) Biotechnology, Weapons and Humanity, London: BMA Professional Division Publications; International Committee of the Red Cross. (2003) 16

17 Biotechnology, Weapons and Humanity, August. [online] Available from: Pearson, G.S. (1993) Prospects for Chemical and Biological Arms Control: The Web of Deterrence, Washington Quarterly 16(2) pp ; For the conceptual evolution of the WoP in those literatures, see the first chapter of Feaks, D., Rappert, B., and Mcleish, B. (2007) Introduction: A Web of Prevention, in Rappert, B., and Mcleish, C. eds., A Web of Prevention: Biological Weapons, Life Science and the Governance of Research, London: Earthscan. 10 The course has been directed by Dr Simon Whitby of the BDRC. Train the trainer website offers detailed description of the course. See 17