Maureen Ellis

Executive Director,

International Federation of Biosafety Associations

Biorisk Education & Professional Competency

Biorisk Education & Competency

• Training and education programs in biorisk management are

offered worldwide by many different organizations

• Training – impart knowledge & build skills around that knowledge

• Initial step towards competency

• Abilities – when knowledge and skills are consistently applied in

the real-world setting

• Competency – combination of knowledge, skills and abilities

Biorisk Education & Competency

• Previously no independent, internationally standardized

mechanism to assess and validate an individual’s “competency”

in biorisk management

• 2010 - IFBA asked by members and other partners to develop

a new certification program for safety and security of

individuals handling infectious disease agents

• Performance test to validate the individual’s knowledge, skills, and abilities

against a standardized competency model

• Essential component of overall effort to reduce biosafety and

biosecurity risks and strengthen global health security

• Ongoing independent assessment for competent

performance in a variety of technical disciplines

related to biosafety and biosecurity

IFBA’s Professional Certification Program

• Followed a rigorous process in accordance with ISO 17024

• Globally accepted benchmark for organizations certifying persons

• Uses psychometrically sound principles for measuring the

competency of individuals

• Produces valid, fair, reliable, and defensible examinations

IFBA’s Professional Certification Program

Developing Exams

• Exam content “Body of Knowledge” developed by Technical

Committees with worldwide representation – Identify Domains (topic areas) and knowledge, skills, abilities statements

Developing Exams

• Job Task Analysis by international community to assign

importance of each topic area

• Develop exam “blue print” (i.e. how many exam questions are

needed for each topic area)

• Exam questions “items” are written by Technical Committees

with guidance from psychometrician – Knowledge, skills, and abilities (application of knowledge, situational &

problem solving questions)

Developing Exams

• A new set of subject matter experts then set passing score for each

examination through an “Angoff ” study – Each SME evaluates each question and rates the % of minimally competent

candidates that would answer the question correctly

– Statistical analysis to set passing score

IFBA Professional Certifications Offered

• Professional Certification currently offered in 5 different technical

disciplines

• Biorisk Management (Certification in Biorisk Management is a pre-requisite

to all other certifications)

IFBA Professional Certifications Offered

• Biosecurity

• Biological Waste Management

IFBA Professional Certifications Offered

• Biosafety Cabinet Selection, Installation & Safe Use

• Biocontainment Facility Design, Operations & Maintenance

• Biorisk Management exams are offered in multiple languages

• French, Russian, Arabic, Spanish

Exam Delivery

• Exams are offered online and in paper-based sessions

• Only English version of exams are offered online at this time

• In conjunction with our IFBA Member Biosafety Association

conferences and other events

• Special exam sessions can also be scheduled and must be

proctored by one of IFBA’s approved exam proctors

Exam Delivery

• Uses a secure remote proctoring technology

Online Exam Delivery

Certifior Candidate Management System

• All candidates (online or paper-based exams at conferences)

must create an account in Certifior at https://ifba.certifior.com

• Issued a unique Candidate ID number

Exam Payment & Pre-requisites

• Candidates must pay the certification fee of $200 USD – Discounted pricing available for specified countries in this region

$100 USD

• Candidates must attest to the Statement of Confidentiality and

Code of Conduct

Exam Statistics to Date

• 673 total certifications completed/in progress – 98 candidates sat for the exam online

– 57 candidates identified as “veterinary/agricultural” sector

– 84 candidates required language other than English • French (41), Arabic (13), Spanish (18), Russian (12)

Exam Statistics to Date

• Candidates to date are from 58 countries around the world

Publish a Directory of Certified Individuals

www.internationalbiosafety.org

IFBA Certified Individuals

• Use the designation “IFBA Professional Certification”

• Valid for a period of 5 years – specific recertification requirements must be met to maintain

certification

Partners & Sponsors

• Many partners and sponsors in the delivery of the certification

program to all regions of the world

Next Steps

• Translate the remaining 4 exams into Russian, Arabic, French,

Spanish

• Develop new certifications including “Animal Biosafety” and

“Risk Assessment”

• Outreach to governments & institutions to adopt need for

certified individuals

Maureen Ellis Executive Director

International Federation of Biosafety Associations

secretariat@internationalbiosafety.org

Thank you