Advancing the 3Rs? Researchers’ perspectives on institutional facilitation in Switzerland – Part 2: executive facilitation

Abstract

Successfully implementing the 3R principles relies on a range of interdependent factors operating across multiple levels. As such, any effort to advance the 3Rs must engage with this complexity and incorporate the lived experiences of stakeholders to inform policy advancements. In an interview-based study, we gathered insights from 35 Swiss researchers on the implementation of the 3Rs in Switzerland. Using reflexive thematic analysis, we identified two overarching categories of facilitation: originative facilitation, referring to the collective meaning-making of the 3Rs, and executive facilitation, encompassing politico-institutional conditions that support their implementation. The present paper focusses on the latter domain, in which key themes include political support fostering a pro-3R research environment, the cultivation of a 3R culture within research institutions, clearer 3R guidance from cantonal commissions on animal experimentation, and strategic use of the Swiss 3R Competence Centre as a leading national 3R intermediary. These themes detail major institutional stakeholders that could further promote the implementation of the 3Rs from the perspective of researchers. Accordingly, the results showed that advancing the 3Rs is not just a matter of niche innovations but should also be orchestrated from a broader institutional perspective and with specific objectives to achieve. While these findings are specific to the Swiss context, they provide valuable information for countries with similar regulations on animal experimentation or a similar political structure.