BRANCHES Project is launching a competition to highlight the best innovative practice in the circular bioeconomy sector and, since last December, has launched an invitation opened to all practitioners from the 5 project countries to participate to the initiative by submitting good practices proposals.

Participants are requested to propose their good practice and describe the main strengths through an easy-to-fill-in format. The received good practices will be circulated through several channels
including web pages, social media and traditional distribution through project partners.

The best good practice will be identified by an open public vote (accounting for 50% of the evaluation) and by the evaluation of a jury composed by experts from the BRANCHES Consortium.

The prize will cover travel and accommodation costs for the winner to participate to a meeting /
event and illustrate the innovative best practice in detail. The good practice will also receive prominence through all the channels activated by the project and good visibility will also be ensured by issuing a dedicated Practice Abstracts (PA) that will be brought to the attention of DG AGRI of the EU Commission, published on the BRANCHES website and mentioned in the project
newsletter.

AWARD CRITERIA
The award criteria should include the following:

• Replicability potential, feasibility of the solution in the assessed operational environment
• Innovation, usefulness, applicability
• Economic profitability
• Environmental improvement reached through the innovation implementation
• Social sustainability

ELEGIBILITY
Innovative practices will be considered eligible when:

• The innovation is already in practice in real environment (not only at lab or pilot scale)
  corresponding to TRLs 8-9.
• The applicants are owners or developers or users of the innovation, and have undersigned
  of a self-declaration of responsibility.
• There is clear evidence that the practice can be adopted (high replicability potential). Very
  singular unique cases may fall out of the scope.
• There is evidence of profitability, and whenever the practice has been subsidised, it must be
  evident the practice can be implementable profitably without subsidising.
• All sections of the award template have been fulfilled and criteria have been addressed.
• There is no evidence of a potential hacking of the voting, or machine voting. In such case the
  suspicious practice will be considered not eligible.