Activities on Q-collect

Work Package 1. Coordination

• 1.1. To coordinate project activities, including project meetings and reporting.
• 1.2. To develop and maintain the internal project webportal.
• 1.3. To manage all administrative, financial, legal and contractual aspects of the project.

Main expected deliverable: internal webportal

Work Package 2. Inventory

• 2.1. To make an inventory of existing relevant phytosanitary collections, by means of a questionnaire to institutions.
• 2.2. To describe the main phytosanitary relevant collections and their characteristics.
• 2.3. To identify gaps within the content of phytosanitary important collections.
• 2.4. To define strategies to fill the gaps previously identified.

Main expected deliverable: descriptive inventory of relevant phytosanitary collections with gap analysis

Work Package 3. Quality Standards

• 3.1. To review current quality control standards in the main EU collections of quarantine organisms.
• 3.2. To define and agree minimum quality standards that can be applied within the main EU collections of quarantine organisms involved in the project.
• 3.3. To produce harmonised guidelines towards achievement of recommended quality standards during preparation, conservation, shipment/access and use of reference materials of all quarantine organisms.
• 3.4. To facilitate consultation with other collections and end-users in EU Member States and EPPO countries to harmonise and increase their awareness of quality standards in provision and use of reference materials of quarantine organisms.

Main expected deliverable: harmonized guidelines on quality standards

Work Package 4. Access

• 4.1. To summarize all information on the biological resources available (what is where and how from WP2) and on the stakeholders needs (who needs what, in which format and why) and how material can be deposited and accessed.
• 4.2. To organize the structured frame for deposition in collections (respecting CDB and Nagoya protocol) and distribution (respecting European and national laws) (using tools such as MTA) for those collections for which it is not available already.

Main expected deliverable: Structured frame for deposition in collections and distribution

Work Package 5. Info-portal

• 5.1. To make an inventory of all existing tools, websites, databases that might be complementary to the inventory on collections (WP2).
• 5.2. From other WPs, obtain the information on the existing systems, strengths and missing features that might need to be implemented within this project and associated databases. Summarize the wishes of the different WPs and make a proposal how future information should be made accessible for the end-users.
• 5.3. To create an integrated system (info-portal) hosting the information and end-results generated by all other WPs.

Main expected deliverable: Info-Portal.

Work Package 6. Design and development of a sustainable European network of collections of plant health quarantine organisms

• 6.1. To provide defined and internationally compatible reference criteria for the establishment of a sustainable network of European reference collections of plant health quarantine organisms resp. taxonomically related organisms.
• 6.2. To provide defined and internationally compatible reference criteria for the virtual access to reference collections and connected databases of plant health quarantine organisms within a sustainable European and international infrastructure network
• 6.3. To provide a process description (e.g. flow chart) for the application of the developed and defined reference criteria for a sustainable network of European reference collections of plant health quarantine organisms.

Main expected deliverable: structured definition of applicable reference criteria for a sustainable network of European reference collections of quarantine pests.

Work Package 7. Dissemination.

• 7.1. To develop a website for the project.
• 7.2. To disseminate efficiently, through the website, relevant information from the project to stakeholders, in particular the plans for sustainable collaboration, coordination for the maintenance of transnational reference collections and databases.
• 7.3. To make a general presentation of the project to be used in national or international communications about the project.
• 7.4. To develop EPPO standards on quality control on phytosanitary collections.
• 7.5. To organize two workshops for collections and stakeholders.

Main expected deliverable: Website, EPPO draft Standards, organization of two workshops.