Our guiding principles

The work of the Centre is characterised by a high level of professionalism and efficiency. The core value of ECDC is to be a quality-driven, service-minded organisation that acts as one team, and all staff is expected to live by its values.

Diversity and inclusion principles

ECDC believes each and every staff member’s contribution is important in making the Centre a good place to work with a strong team spirit. The Centre offers the opportunity to be an important part of a dynamically developing European agency.

ECDC values diversity and welcomes staff without any distinction on the grounds of age, race, political, philosophical, or religious conviction, sex or sexual orientation and regardless of disabilities, marital status or family situation.

Scientific guiding principles

There are five strategic principles that guide all ECDC scientific work and outputs, and that have been endorsed by the ECDC Director and Advisory Forum. 

These principles are:

Relevance

ECDC consults with its networks, stakeholders and representatives of most concerned groups, to better understand needs and existing gaps. When developing scientific work, ECDC uses a multidisciplinary approach that involves content and methodology experts, and relies on  internal and external peer-reviews as well as expert and stakeholder consultations. ECDC uses appropriate communication formats and channels to increase relevance, applicability, and clarity of its public health messages. 

Independence

ECDC collects and assesses declarations of interest, takes appropriate measures to minimise conflict of interest and ensures the Centre’s scientific independence and integrity. 

Annual declarations

Annual Declarations of Interest and Declarations of Commitment from the Director, Heads of Unit, and members of ECDC's governance bodies are published online to ensure that they do not, in the performance of their duties, deal with matters in which they may, directly or indirectly, have a personal interest that could impair their independence.

Quality

ECDC relies on the best currently available expertise and evidence and follows universally accepted standards and processes to assure scientific validity. ECDC strives to minimise bias.

Transparency

ECDC follows clear and transparent processes and structured and open reporting, allowing the reader to understand how the work was developed and to draw their own conclusions for their specific context. ECDC acknowledges internal and external contributions fairly.

Accessibility

ECDC work is made available at no cost and without delay. Clear public health key messages are tailored to be understood by different audiences.