The ExPeRt Knowledge Hub is organized as a plenary and different Working Groups. The Working Groups convene smaller teams of EPR experts on the basis of their profiles and the EPR topics that they are interested in. Initially, the Hub organises four Working Groups, dedicated to regulators, international comparative insights, EPR registration and reporting, and EPR research. The members of the ExPeRt Hub are encouraged to convene further Working Groups in areas not yet covered, or for combinations of stakeholders that are not yet meeting in other forums such as industry associations. The Hub will facilitate the activities of such working groups. The project’s stakeholder consultation events are part of the activities of the Working Groups.
Membership in the Working Groups is initated in two ways: by selecting “opt-in” option when registering for an ExPeRt Hub consultation event or by registering yourself here. Each Working Group has a separate mailing list for direct exchange.
| Plenary | Targeted experts |
|---|---|
Everyone registered as a member of the Hub is automatically a member of the Plenary. Meetings and activities organized in the plenary format are open to everyone. They seek to collect as diverse a range of views and profiles of EPR experts as possible to learn and to network. | All ExPeRt Hub members, no registration required. |
| Regulators’ Working Group | |
| This Working Group targets government officials whose work deals with EPR. While government officials regularly convene as a part of the policy making processes, or are invited to events to express their views, they rarely have the opportunity to reflect on important EPR policy issues in an academic, moderated setting without stakeholder presence and as individuals, i.e. not publicly and as formal representatives of an authority. The open, Chatham House Rules based discussions promoted in this Working Group are focused on policy innovation, identification of best practices, as well as more critical insights on existing EPR systems and processes. | Members of this Working Group are members of the government at local, regional, national, EU or international level. The Hub will organize workshops for the members of this Working Group. |
| International Working Group | Targeted experts |
| EPR is a policy that is being developed and implemented globally, yet comparative exchanges on EPR are few and far between. This Working Group addresses this gap, engaging EPR stakeholders in different parts of the world in discussions on various aspects of the EPR systems. The comparisons include also the development of EPR benchmarks, which is one of LIFE4EPR’s key objectives. | Open to all ExPeRt Hub members interested in international comparisons and insights. The Hub will organize events focused on the themes of this Working Group. |
| EPR research Working Group | |
| While academic research on EPR has been ongoing since the 1990s, there are still no regular forums convening such work. In this Working Group, scholars working on different aspects of EPR systems are brought together to share and develop science-based research knowledge on EPR across geographic and disciplinary boundaries and in language understandable also for non-academic EPR communities. | Open to all ExPeRt Hub members engaged in developing and interested in consuming research findings on EPR. The Hub will organize events focused on the themes of this Working Group. |
| EPR registration and reporting Working Group | |
| This Working Group is dedicated to exploring and improving EPR registration and reporting processes across the EU. It provides a forum for discussing regulatory requirements, data flows, validation processes, interoperability challenges, and emerging digital solutions. Within this broader framework, the group also examines and tests the EULIFE4EPR ‘Registration and Reporting Gateway Pilot’ as a concrete model of a future harmonised approach. | Open to all, especially experts involved in the design, management, and use of EPR registration and reporting systems (e.g. national authorities managing EPR registers, PROs, producers and their representatives, digitalisation agencies, and IT specialists and researchers working on EPR data governance and system architecture). The Hub will organize events focused on the themes of this Working Group including dedicated sessions for pilot testing activities. |