It is assumed that sufficient, direct and in-kind funding, as well as technical support, will be available for the preparation and implementation of the assessment, but this is a risk, see further under "Risk Assessment". They should interact with each other, with similar groups undertaking global, thematic and methodological assessments in order to ensure conceptual and methodological coherence. They should also work as closely as possible with the IPBES-rele-vant task forces, expert groups and the ECA.