Report on liaising activities with the reference group

A report following the the creation of liaison activities with the projects’ reference group. This reference group will consist of stakeholders working day to day in the field of bio-based industries including: policy-makers, entrepreneurs, data scientists and general public, among others. This task will take place in three stages. Based on their availability, the reference group will be requested to participate in the following activities: Task 2.3 Assisting in identification of relevant initiatives at local, regional and European level Task 4.2 Participation in the Social hack days Task 3.1 Validation of the Bio-W@tch platform Task 4.4 Attend pilot training seminars In order to form and liaise with the reference group: a) The consortium will place an open call to its contacts to ask stakeholders whether they would like to apply to join the reference group: this call will provide potential applications with information concerning their duties and the coverage of expenses. b) The consortium will evaluate applicants, based on their suitability and with the view of engaging both male and female representatives and form a reference of 6-8 members with the aim of an engaged group from different stakeholder groups. c) Partners will liaise with the reference group throughout the remainder of the project and invite them to review our outputs and participate in our activities. We have found forming a reference group at the point of funding ensures higher quality and availability of relevant individuals. This approach to initiating a reference group relies on engaging with those with a direct interest in the project at the point of the project being funded, including those that have already expressed an interest to do so (through letters of support), thereby ensuring the best quality review and engagement from the reference group throughout the duration of the project.