Upon request from MS, ECDC provides support on Epidemic Intelligence (EI) activities with the objective of sharing of knowledge and skills through direct experience of carrying out tasks of EI, from a “learning by doing” perspective. The integration of national experts started in 2007 with Portugal as a pilot country to strengthening epidemic intelligence capacity. Following that experience, a set of briefing sessions has been organized to provide the opportunity to MS representatives to be fully informed on the ECDC preparedness and response activities, with a particular focus on epidemic intelligence, the emergency operations centre (EOC), and the response activities, including the deployment of outbreak assistance teams.

Specifically, the briefings aim for the participant to:

• Familiarize with ECDC as a European agency, its mandate, its internal structure and organisation, its functions and values;
• Familiarize with the existing relevant procedures at ECDC, with a particular focus on the epidemic intelligence procedures, the functioning of the EOC, the guiding principles for outbreak response, and the deployment of outbreak assistance teams (OAT); 
• Establish a personal contact with the persons who play a key role in the above mentioned activities.