NIOSH, Georgetown University Center Join to Advance Integration of Health, Safety, Economic Research

Contact: Fred Blosser (202) 401-3749

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the Center for Business and Public Policy (CBPP) at Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business today signed a memorandum of understanding to foster the integration of occupational safety and health with economic research and university-level business curricula.

The agreement establishes a framework for collaborative programs and projects by the partners. In the agreement, the partners pledge to develop a plan of action for developing and pursuing those objectives. The agreement will be in effect for two years.

"We are pleased to join with Georgetown University to nurture an emerging generation of business leaders who will value safe, healthy, and productive workplaces as a key for staying competitive and maintaining a strong U.S. economy in the 21st Century," said NIOSH Director John Howard, M.D. "Among other research priorities, NIOSH's Research to Practice ('r2p') and Steps to a Healthier U.S. Workforce initiatives in particular will provide a strong foundation for this partnership."

John Mayo, the Executive Director of the Center, said, "We are immensely proud of creating this connection with NIOSH. The shared expertise will foster the integration of business and economic methods with the social interest in promoting safety and health in the workplace. Surely this is a case where everybody wins."

NIOSH and CBPP will work cooperatively to enhance workplace safety and health protections by:

• Encouraging the development of sound research by business and economic scholars to investigate the relationship between effective programs to promote workplace safety and health and their related costs and consequences.
• Supporting efforts to develop a research agenda that will advance the NIOSH Steps to a Healthier U.S. Workforce initiative, the goal of which is to promote effective integration of workplace health protection with worksite-based health promotion.
• Encouraging development of research that has the potential for practical impact, in accordance with the NIOSH Research to Practice ("r2p") research model.
• Participating in the ongoing Industry, Policy, and Safety Seminar Series which brings together scholars, business leaders, worker representatives, and policy officials to discuss research related to issues at the intersection of business and public policy, especially those issues related to workplace safety and health.
• Encouraging the advancement of workplace safety and health as a topic for education in business schools' curricula.
• Speaking, exhibiting, and participating in conferences, meetings, and working groups that explore workplace safety and health and related policy issues and create networks of mutual interest.
• Sharing information to be appropriately disseminated on NIOSH's and CBPP's respective Web pages.

NIOSH is the federal agency that conducts research and makes recommendations for preventing work-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths. It is part of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). For further information on Research to Practice (r2p), visit the NIOSH web page at www.cdc.gov/niosh/r2p/. More information on Steps to a Healthier U.S. Workforce is available at www.cdc.gov/niosh/steps/. For more information on NIOSH research in general, visit the NIOSH web page, www.cdc.gov/niosh or call the toll-free NIOSH information number, 1-800-35-NIOSH (1-800-356-4674).