How does one assess the ‘systemic feasibility’ of novel approaches?
This question has been on the minds of Kaat Peeters and Maarten Verbrugghe, researchers from the Belgian Research Institute ILVO, for quite some time now.
The project’s Annual Meeting in Bordeaux, from February 4th until February 6th 2025, presented itself as a unique occasion to focus on a specific aspect of the systemic feasibility analysis, namely the indicators used to ‘score’ or ‘assess’ the different feasibility aspects.
The true challenge for the ILVO researchers lies not in the collection of suitable indicators itself, but in dealing with the principle of ‘choosing is losing’. Time is not on their side, so they must select a limited number of indicators which ‘say it all’.
Luckily, at the Annual Meeting, more than thirty experts from different countries and crop sectors teamed up to help them. Kaat and Maarten had prepared a list of possible indicators for several criteria within each of the four analysis topics (technical, environmental, economic, and social). The most comprehensive list of indicators was the one presented for the environmental part, covering vital criteria such as water quality, air quality, and energy use.
After being divided into small groups, the participants immediately switched to work mode, because time wasn’t on their side either. In a short period of twenty minutes, about 40 indicators needed to be evaluated.
Is the proposed indicator ‘need to know’ or is it ‘nice to know’? Is the proposed unit of measurement the right one, or is one of the proposed alternative units the better choice? And, last, but certainly not least: how would they assess the availability of the required data? An aspect best examined sooner than later if one doesn’t wish to end up with a nice list of unmeasurable indicators.
Despite the limited time frame, the input from the experts was invaluable for the ILVO researchers. A big thank you to every one of them.
At the end of the day, the group was once again a step closer to safer and more sustainable pest management in Europe.
