Methodology

The Beyond Animal Testing Index is subdivided into Domains and Strategic Pillars as shown in Figure 1. Each Domain represents a field in which the organisation can contribute to research beyond animal testing, while each Pillar captures a different stage of organisation action. The first version of the Index will limit itself to public research organisations.

The Framework is constructed along five Domains, which are

(A) General Management and Stakeholder Engagement

(B) Research and Development

(C) Capacity Building

(D) Investments and Grants

(E) Intellectual Property Management

Each Domain is assessed along three Strategic Pillars

(I) Commitments

(II) Transparency

(III) Performance

Each Pillar and Domain has a different weight, based on the amount of indicators.

The Index is a relative ranking, where organisations are compared with each other rather than against an absolute, ideal state. The highest attainable scores for each indicator do not reflect an ideal characteristic of organisation behaviour, but a culmination of stakeholder views of what can be reasonably expected of organisations.