Elevating Quality Excellence in the Netherlands: Introducing the ISPE Netherlands Affiliate Quality Community of Practice (CoP)
The ISPE Netherlands Affiliate Quality CoP was launched in 2025, fulfilling the need for a platform for the professionals passionate about promoting and achieving quality excellence in the pharmaceutical industry. By bringing together quality-focused experts and collaborator organizations such as Dutch Association of Research Quality Assurance (DARQA) and Vereniging van Nederlandse Industrie-Apothekers (NIA), the CoP intends to facilitate knowledge sharing and the development of best practices in Quality topics shaping the future of pharma.
Mission of the Netherlands Affiliate Quality CoP
The ISPE Netherlands Affiliate Quality CoP aims to support quality professionals in meeting current and future industry technological advances. The CoP focuses on enhancing quality culture, product and process quality, as well as resource optimization—ultimately supporting sustainable, resilient and compliant operations.
Vision of the Netherlands Affiliate Quality CoP
The CoP strives to contribute to a strong, future-ready quality community in the Netherlands, by enabling professionals to develop into:
- Skilled, knowledgeable, and independent quality practitioners
- Experts with a deep understanding of regulatory requirements, technology and innovation, and business sustainability
Benefits to the Quality Community in the Netherlands
In today’s evolving pharmaceutical industry, quality is more than a metric—it's a mindset. The Netherlands Quality CoP will bring various benefits to individual quality professionals and organizations to achieve the highest standards of quality management.
- Networking and Collaboration: Providing access to a country network of peers and quality experts, fostering valuable connections and collaborations
- Professional Development: Supporting the growth of quality-related skills and careers through training, webinars, events, and knowledge resources
- Community Impact: Supported by ISPE’s global expertise, addressing local challenges of quality professionals in the Netherlands pharmaceutical industry
- Advocacy and Representation: Acting as a unified voice to promote quality standards and address evolving regulatory requirements within the country
The Netherlands Affiliate CoP aims to advance toward the Quality 5.0 concept, where quality is integrated within a collaborative culture and a responsible, knowledgeable mindset shared by all professionals working in the pharmaceutical industry, starting with leadership as an example. Working together and actively involving quality professionals is a driver for these positive changes that accelerate the adoption of best practices for implementation of technological advances.
The Board of the Netherlands Affiliate Quality CoP
Photo of the ISPE Netherlands Affiliate Quality CoP Board members:
- In person: Gorodetska, Tchkrtchain, Storimans, Vtyurina, De Koning, Van Hooren, Violeta Mihailova
- Online: Bulsink, Singh, Pelleboer, Veissi
The first elected Executive Board of the ISPE Netherlands Quality CoP consists of the following members.
The broader CoP board includes the following members supporting the launch and ongoing activities: Bulsink, De Koning, Veissi, Storimans, Singh, Gorodetska, Lineke Pelleboer, with support from Tim Postlethwaite with ISPE.
Official Launch of the ISPE Netherlands Affiliate Quality CoP
On 21 January 2026, the ISPE Netherlands Quality CoP was officially launched with a public kick-off webinar titled "Advancing Quality Thinking." This highly anticipated event served as a significant milestone, bringing together a total of 87 quality professionals representing the ISPE Netherlands, DARQA, and NIA networks.
Focus on the process and the results will come.
This quote from the webinar captured the essence of the discussion and set the tone for a highly engaging session. The session was rated an impressive 4.7 out of 5 stars by participants—a strong reflection of the relevance, engagement, and quality of the discussion. From a professional perspective, the webinar reinforced the importance of holistic quality thinking.
Topics such as data integrity, risk management, and process understanding were explored not as isolated elements, but as interconnected components of a single, integrated quality system.
A key takeaway was the clear shift away from compliance-driven checklists toward risk-based quality systems, supported by deep process understanding and maturity models such as EFQM. Participants highlighted the critical role of knowledge management—captured across the lifecycle, continuously refined, and made accessible in a structured and systemic way—as a key enabler of sustainable quality. Ultimately, the session reinforced a shared conviction: Quality must be embedded in business strategy and daily operations to drive excellence, enable innovation, and deliver patient-centric outcomes.
Save the Date: The Netherlands Affiliate Quality CoP looks forward to welcoming anyone interested in the topic of quality to attend its next in-person ISPE Netherlands Quality seminar. The event will provide another valuable opportunity for quality professionals to connect, share insights, and continue the important conversations.
When: Tuesday, 9 June | 1300–1900 CET
Where: BioTech Training Facility (Sylviusweg 70), Leiden Bio Science Park, Leiden, Netherlands
To register, please email quality@ispe-events.eu.
Looking to the Future
By leveraging ISPE’s global knowledge base, training programs, and collaborative network, ISPE Netherlands Affiliate Quality CoP aims to become a catalyst for meaningful change and foster quality awareness across all levels of pharmaceutical operations. The authors look forward to a future filled with quality innovation, collaboration, and growth-both within the local quality community and as part of a larger ISPE network. Stay tuned for more updates and opportunities to engage.
