What is the Stakeholders Committee?
The senseApest Stakeholders Committee (SCO) is established to bridge the gap between research, industry, plant-health services and policy makers, and to ensure the effective involvement of relevant actors throughout the project.
Who is part of this Committee?
The committee includes representatives from various sectors, such as border control agencies, European plant protection agencies, SMEs in sensor technology, the farming community, academia, research institutions, industry, and other relevant organisations.
What is its role?
- to provide independent advice
- to help ensure that project activities remain relevant to end-user needs
- to facilitate knowledge sharing and expertise exchange
Members contribute to the co-creation process by helping to define specifications for the Pest Detection Unit (PDU), while providing feedback on their performance and usability.
Through this interaction, the SCO supports the development and validation of pest-specific VOC sensor PDUs and contributes to practical and policy-relevant project outcomes.
When will the Committee meet?
Twenty selected members of the SCO will meet at least twice during the project, with two stakeholder workshops planned in the second and third years of senseApest, complemented by online meetings when needed.
During these workshops, results from different work packages will be presented and discussed. Stakeholder preferences and acceptance criteria will be gathered, and this feedback will be integrated into ongoing project activities.
Who can participate to the Committee ?
The SCO is open to stakeholders who are involved in, or affected by, plant health, Pest invasion, biosecurity, and import inspection processes. This may include:
- Public authorities and regulatory bodies
- Professionals involved in plant health, inspection, or biosecurity
- Industry representatives and SMEs connected to plant protection or sensor technologies
- Farmers, growers, and agricultural organisations
- Researchers and academic experts
- Relevant associations and end-users within the plant and agricultural sector
Participation is voluntary, and members can choose the level of involvement that suits their availability.
Which resources for stakeholders ?
A dedicated private Microsoft Teams channel will allow SCO members to :
- to access materials
- follow project progress
- exchange views and information with the consortium and other stakeholders.
Want to become a member?
If you are interested in joining the Stakeholder Committee (SCO) or would like more information, please contact:
Nikita Dara (Wageningen University & Research)
📧 nikita.dara@wur.nl
We welcome expressions of interest from all relevant parties.
