The purpose of the Estonian Network on Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) is to establish a national base for collaboration by strenghtening communication between OH&S organizations, pooling information on their capacities, and making such information publicly available and easily accessible using diverse channels, particularly Internet.

The main functions of the Network are sharing and exchanging information between organizations and increasing OH&S awareness in the society, developing strategies, methods and instruments, and supporting training and education that strenghten OH&S in Estonia. The Network encourages the establishment of subnetworks by organizations that have similar subject-interests (such as ergonomics, agriculture, ...) or geographical interests (local concerns).

The Network is a peer-to-peer alliance with equally shared ownership by its members. It is a decentralized arrangement of independent member organizations. All members maintain their own Internet (World-Wide-Web) site and are responsible for quality of information they make available. Reasonable standardization with regard to structure of presentation of Internet information is pursued at by the network.

The Network selects a secretariat which provides general management for regular network meetings, collection of organizational profiles, maintaining a national directory, managing the Network's World-Wide-Web home page, etc. Concerted network meetings are held regularly to direct and determine network policies and strategies, and to recognize general interests for joint actions. The Network encourages ad hoc member alliances ("task forces") to accomplish specific tasks when a need arises.

It is recommended that each member organization appoints a focal point who acts as liaison to network members and the secretariat, will be responsible for maintaining the World-Wide-Web site at the member organization, and provides and up-dates information at that site.

The Network promotes collaboration, co-ordination, horizontal communication across administrative borders, economic use of national capacities, flexibility, equality, transparency of governance, OH&S awareness in the society and empowerment of local institutions for promoting OH&S.