Stakeholders covering an important range of animal health actors:

•Animal Health Industry united in SIMV•French Agency for Food Safety (AFSSA)•National Veterinary Schools (ENV)•National Institute of agronomical research (INRA)•Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD)•Technical Veterinarians (SNGTV)•Sanitary Defense (farmers) (FNGDS)•Local Veterinary Laboratories (ADILVA)•Ministry of Agriculture (DGAL)

Mission and Objectives•Assure an active and unique forum, which unites all actors in animal health, by providing a network that connects public research institutions, AH industry and “field users” (vets, farmers…)• The network has to provide a solid basis by the presence of multifocal expertise of the different stakeholders that works on the basis of 3 main functions, which are:

•To Dialogue (To “Concert”)•To Cooperate•To Coordinate

• A local action Plan is in progress which takes up the wishes and (research) propositions of the different stakeholders and that should result in the publication of coordinated research plans. The diseases that will be taken up in the plan are not limited to list of diseases published by the ETPGAH list and not limited to livestock disease

Structure of the RFSA Network:• A Piloting Committee, the COPIL, reuniting the stakeholders• A Secretariat, involved in the redaction of the Action Plan• Different Working groups (GT) were decided by the COPIL:

• GT1 is involved with the immediate needs in the field, it involves mainly the availability of orphan drugs , in vivo diagnostics and vaccines”

• GT2 Arthropod borne disease: with BTV as a first subject. The work of this GT was used to fix priorities in the current national research program.

• GT3 definition of projects to be proposed within the context of FP7

• The current number of working groups could be enlarged in the future

A specific web site (in French) has been installed by the SIMV . This website is partly open to the public and has a controlled access for members to be able to share working documents

All details available on:

http://www.rfsa.net