Commission, EFSA will dedicate part of its grant and procurement budget for the purpose  of preparedness for verification studies. The areas of work would be those for which scientific studies are required and regulatory  efforts are justified, to ensure that regulatory science does not fall behind scientific  developments and potential new research methodologies of regulatory interest. Investing  in commissioning scientific studies and projects to address scientific and methodological  knowledge gaps in its regulatory areas, generating data and evidence, developing  methodologies and communication science in a coordinated manner with larger EU and  Member State research and innovation programmes (e.g. Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe),  translating and complementing research findings into implementable risk assessment  methodologies can strengthen the cooperation between EFSA and other EU/national  institutions and reduce knowledge and communication gaps. This may thereby prevent  triggering Article 30 requests on scientific divergences which have the potential to develop  to Article 32d requests. To support this investment EFSA established a process for identifying and prioritising  scientific themes and developing their related roadmaps for action. The main components  of this process are:  ii) A  “roadmap for action”  which provides f or each scientific theme a full understanding on e.g. ongoing activities, knowledge gaps, societal interests and  concerns as well as collaboration opportunities and potential partners. Each roadmap will provide for EFSA and its partners a basis for prioritisation and  decision making for high-value (> 1 million euro), multi-annual (>2-5 years)  studies or project calls (grants or procurements) to be launched under a  scientific theme  over a 6 years period.  i) A  “theme paper” which provides  for each scientific theme directions for preparedness for future risk assessment requirements, avoidance of scientific  divergences and eventually verification studies in collaboration and consultation  with partners (e.g. JRC, Member States, EU Agencies and, if relevant, international partners and stakeholders). (1) building a European partnership for next generation, systems-based environmental  risk assessment  (2)  new approach methodologies (NAMs) in risk assessment, and (3)  risk assessment of combined exposure to multiple chemicals. In line with EFSA´s consideration on the future of science 4 and  EFSA’s 2027 strategic  development 5 , EFSA prioritised four scientific themes for 2021, and roadmaps for action  are required for three themes in the frame of this procurement: The technical offers submitted in response to this call for tenders shall take the directions  provided in the relevant theme papers into account ( Annexes 3-5 ).  4  Refer to https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.2903/j.efsa.2019.e170622 $^{5}$ Refer to https://www.efsa.europa.eu/sites/default/files/event/mb-82/mb191218-7-p.pdf 5 