Developing long-term strategies with experts from the value chain

Twelve external experts, across different value chain sectors and European countries, make up the DiverIMPACTS stakeholder platform. They represent various major sectors along the value chain such as farming, education (academic and advisory), policy (EU, national and regional), processing and retail, supporting industries (breeding, machinery, etc.) as well as consumers and society. The stakeholder platform is a group of independent, external experts; experts within their own field or sector, who will act as external reviewers of the DiverIMPACTS project and its results. The group will:

1. monitor and review the developments and outcomes of each work package during the period of the project,
2. provide feedback to the project team and
3. validate the applicability, impact, and relevance within their own sector and along the value chain.

A further important role of the stakeholder platform is to carry the project outcomes into their own individual sector, to achieve widespread and long-term implementation of successful measures that foster crop diversification, facilitating impact also beyond the project period.

The stakeholder platform group will meet in person four times during the 5-year project: first in June 2018, then on three further occasions towards the middle and end of the project period. Throughout the rest of the year, regular and interactive networking and exchange of results, feedback, ideas, and suggestions to project partners or work packages will be facilitated and supported by an online forum, an individual mailing list and through conversations by phone or Skype.