SkillUp Tech session “A Win-Win Situation for Research Quality and Work Satisfaction: More Involvement of Animal Care Staff" at FELASA conference in Athens

At the FELASA 2025 Congress in Athens, the SkillUp Tech session titled “A Win-Win Situation for Research Quality and Work Satisfaction: More Involvement of Animal Care Staff” brought together professionals from across Europe to discuss the evolving role of animal care staff and technicians in laboratory animal science. The session, chaired by Fernando Gonzalez Uarquin and Paulin Jirkof, focused on the potential benefits and current challenges of increasing the involvement of these staff members in research planning and conduct. A quick on-site survey revealed that a high number of lab technicians and animal care staff participated in the session.

Survey Insights: The current situation of Communication and Involvement

Sophie Schober presented findings from a large-scale, European survey conducted under the COST Action IMPROVE initiative. The survey, which gathered responses from more than 30 countries, revealed several key points:

• Overall, researchers rated communication with other project members as good, but actual discussion about experimental planning with animal care staff occurred infrequently.
• Animal care staff and technicians expressed a clear interest in being more involved in discussions about planning and conducting experiments, as well as in receiving training on experimental planning and protocol development.
• Both researchers and non-scientific staff recognized the value of such involvement for improving research quality

The Importance of Multidirectional Communication

Bettina Bert’s presentation highlighted that while animal experiments are essential for scientific progress, questionable research practices—such as poor planning, selective reporting, and lack of transparency—can undermine both the scientific and ethical value of these studies. Open science practices like preregistration, data sharing, and comprehensive reporting have the potential to address these issues, but successful implementation depends on all participants, including technicians and care staff, understanding the importance of research rigor and transparency. Bettina also presented results from the survey, ensuring the willingness of animal care staff to be involved in scientific discussions and indicating that there is still room to enhance communication and training in these areas together with animal care staff and lab technicians.

Qualitative Assessment of Animal Welfare

Augusto Vitale’s talk addressed the role of technicians in the qualitative assessment of animal welfare, particularly in the context of non-human primate research. The presentation underscored that while objective welfare indicators are important, technicians—through their daily interactions and familiarity with individual animals—can provide valuable insights into psychological wellbeing and individual differences. Empathy and mutual trust between staff and animals were highlighted as important factors in welfare assessment. Empathy was also identified as a common and necessary requisite to carry out daily maintenance of animal colonies

Interactive Discussion and Polling

The session included interactive polls, inviting participants to reflect on their professional background, experiences with compassion fatigue, and views on the involvement of care staff and technicians in experimental planning. The responses indicated a general openness to increased inclusion, particularly when supported by appropriate training and communication structures. It was also discussed that publishers could contribute to this process Lab technicians and animal care staff should be named in the acknowledgement or they should get the possibility to publish their opinions.