Communications 'Hub' pilot is underway
1 September 2016
The design and procurement of the LIFE SMART Waste project’s communication ‘Hub’ has been completed, enabling a pilot launch of the Hub for project beneficiaries and a selection of external users.
The pilot Hub was launched by the SEPA project team in May 2016 following a period of extensive user acceptance testing for the newly-procured IBM platform and resolution of technical challenges encountered when using a variety of different computer systems.
Early presentations and demonstrations of the pilot Hub were given to INTERPOL’s Pollution Crime Working Group (Glasgow, June 2016) and IMPEL (Frankfurt, June 2016) and these generated considerable positive feedback and interest in furthering international collaboration using the Hub. Significantly, the INTERPOL Pollution Crime Working Group (PCWG) agreed to undertake complementary work alongside the LIFE SMART Waste project using the Hub.
Currently, all participants in the pilot - SEPA and Natural Resources Wales project staff; select INTERPOL PCWG representatives; and Associated Beneficiaries’ representatives - have access to the Hub on a daily basis for collaborative activity. This will enable intelligence and intervention officers to work on the LIFE SMART Waste project’s intelligence products using the Hub’s functionality.
Wider deployment of the Hub is scheduled for October 2016 and this will allow participating enforcement agencies to collaborate in a secure, virtual environment that transcends traditional boundaries and borders. Participants will be able to share and evaluate information about challenging waste streams and related waste crime issues that could help to identify areas of vulnerability which could be subject to criminal activities. It is envisaged that the LIFE SMART Waste will produce three packages of intelligence and data utilising the Hub by December 2017.
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