Achievements of the IPPC Secretariat's Task Force for Communication and Advocacy in 2015

The Task Force for Communication and Advocacy (TFCA) was established in September 2015 to strengthen the communication and advocacy of the IPPC Secretariat, both internally and externally, to achieve the cohesion, harmonization, integration and coordination in this area. TFCA s main objective is to improve IPPC s visibility by showcasing the work and achievement of the IPPC Secretariat by coordinating the communication, advocacy, and information management across the IPPC Secretariat. The TFCA is composed of 5 members: David Nowell (Team Lead, IST), Dorota Buzon (Assistant to David, IST), Mirko Montuori (Standard Setting Unit), Sarah Brunel (Implementation Facilitation Unit) and Paola Sentinelli (IST).

The most notable achievements for 2015 are the following: 1. Increased integration and coordination within the Secretariat and greater cooperation and integration with the new FAO Communication policies: standardization of internal processes and procedures to improve communication with the IPPC Community and Stakeholders. 2. Information management: the migration of the PCE to a new software platform for improved reliability, security and functionality, improvements and bug fixing in the IPP, the APPPC website, OCS and phytosanitary.info page; and the initiation of a new OCS software platform for release in 2017. 3. Communication: substantial improvements in the quantity, timeliness, quality and focus of headline news about IPPC activities and achievements; increased engagement and promotion of the IPPC through the FAO communications systems; the establishment of a regular IPPC seminar series; and the regular distribution of an IPPC Newsletter to an increasingly larger audience. 4. Advocacy: Two extremely successful IPPC Seminars were organized on the International Year of Plant Health (June 2015) and on the Invasive Alien Species (September 2015). Quality and number of news items uploaded on the IPP website was improved. The Mid-year report and End-year report of 2015 were prepared. 5. Provision of support for the promotion of the initiative to declare 2020 the International Year of Plant Health (IYPH).