This is the case, for instance, in the LiveDike concept, in which sensors give live information about the dike's strength and condition, which is very advantageous for dike inspectors. The IJkdijk foundation is the developer of the LiveDike concept and the initiator of LiveDike projects in the Netherlands.

Today, during the innovation relay at the Van Nelle Fabriek in Rotterdam, Mr. Atsma, State Secretary for Infrastructure and the Environment, announced that he will donate three million Euros to the upscaling of the LiveDike concept. This means that the IJkdijk development program can be initiated. The contribution from the Ministry and other institutions means that LiveDike projects such as LiveDike XL Noorderzijlvest and LiveDike Utrecht can start in the near future. Minister Verhagen (Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation) is also investigating the possibilities of contributing to the implementation of the IJkdijk development program in association with I&E.

Dikes are usually inspected in a traditional way in which inspectors can only see the outside of the dike with the naked eye. LiveDike Eemshaven changed this situation two years ago. Sensors in the dike measure aspects such as water pressure, temperature and humidity, and they give important, up-to-date information about the dike's strength. The IJkdijk foundation and its partners have already gained a lot of experience with the LiveDike concept. That experience is now being used in the implementation of the LiveDike XL Noorderzijlvest and LiveDike Utrecht projects. LiveDike XL is an upscaling of LiveDike projects. This means: the large-scale application of sensors in lengthy, typically Dutch dikes.

The Noorderzijlvest Water Board will be the first to have 22 kilometers of sea dike along the coast of the Wadden Sea monitored with sensors over the next couple of years.

The IJkdijk development program will run until 2014. A number of other LiveDikes have been planned for the next three years.