Category: Stakeholders engagment and co-creation

 BioEcon project

 BioEcon project

Posted on by Louis Ferrini
Project concluded

The overall objective of BioEcon is to develop, extend and fully unlock the research potential of IUNG in accordance with the new global strategies trends and changes in national needs through the creation of an excellent international and interdisciplinary department on bio-economy and systems analysis. The knowledge, experience, developed tools, research programme and collaborations will allow the institute to maintain the new unit in the institute also after the completion of the ERA Chairs project, it will operate in close cooperation with the rest of the departments of the Institute, with main purpose being regional development in line with knowledge-based bio-economy. This structural change in IUNG is a response to an identified need and potential on the national level and will receive the support of public authorities, industry and other research structures.

Contacts: Magdalena Borzęcka: mborzecka@iung.pulawy.pl

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 BIOEASTsUP project

 BIOEASTsUP project

Posted on by Louis Ferrini
Project concluded

The overall objective of BIOEASTsUP project is to support the BIOEAST initiative and Action Plan for transition of 11 Central and Eastern European (CEE) to bioeconomy. The specific objectives are: SO1: To trigger strategic thinking at governmental level and transnational peer-to-peer development of national circular bioeconomy strategies in BIOEAST countries. SО2: To emphasize the role of multi-actor approach in developing new value chains to advance bioeconomies. SO3: To develop in a multi-stakeholder driven approach a consolidated BIOEAST Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA). SO4: To set-up and maintain a macro-regional framework in support of the BIOEAST initiative and the SRIA development and sustainability. SO5: To facilitate evidence-based policy making. SO6: To increase the visibility of the bioeconomy within the quintuple helix in the BIOEAST region. BIOEASTsUP methodology was developed to support a parallel setup: the project structure and the structure of the BIOEAST Initiative. Two work packages focus on the national bioeconomy deployment (WP1, WP2), two are dedicated to the impact at the macro-regional and the EU level (WP3, WP4) whereas dissemination activity complements all the components (WP5). The work plan is as follows: WP 1: Framework for National Bioeconomy Strategies Development WP 2: Capacity building for BIOEAST stakeholders WP 3: Establishing macro-regional structures in support of the BIOEAST initiative WP 4: BIOEAST SRIA development and positioning the macro-regional economies WP 5: Communication, Dissemination and Exploitation WP 6: Project Management and Evaluation BIOEASTsUP has been initiated directly by the BIOEAST Initiative’s ministries. In total 26 ministries support the project. In addition associations, industrial chambers, innovation centres, other research organisations and NGOs have committed to the project. BIOEASTsUP will further engage all stakeholders in the bioeconomy value chain to coordinate efforts to maximize the impact.

Contacts: Magdalena Borzęcka: mborzecka@iung.pulawy.pl

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 Biobridges project

 Biobridges project

Posted on by Louis Ferrini
Project concluded

BIOBRIDGES is a 24 months action aiming at boosting the marketability of bio-based products – BBPs by establishing close cooperation and partnership between bio-based Industries – BBI, brand owners and consumers’ representatives. The ultimate goal is to stimulate and support the active engagement of and interaction among all stakeholders (including local communities and local authorities) and improve market acceptance of BBPs.
BIOBRIDGES will design and implement replicable methodologies, procedures and good practices supporting multi-stakeholders’ interaction, leading to new cross-sector partnerships.

Main activities will be:

  • Identify the cooperation challenges among consumers, brand owners and BBI
  • Create a sustainable multi-stakeholder community involving consumer representatives, BBI and brand owners from different bio-based economy clusters and stimulate dialogue and cooperation
  • Following a co-creation approach, increase consumers’ and brand owners’ awareness, confidence and trust on the benefits of BBPs compared to the fossil-based counterparts
  • Support the establishment of at least 2 new cross-cutting interconnections in bio-based economy clusters and define replicable procedures and good practices leading to the establishment of new cross-sector partnerships and business opportunities
  • Stimulate the multi-stakeholder discussion toward pre-and co-normative research, new standardisation/labelling and emerging co-creation models (B2B and B2C)

At the end of the project, at least 2 new cross-sector interconnections in bio-based economy cluster will be established, while the foundations for the creation of new ones based on the arguments, best practices and recommendations deriving from the project will be formed.

The BIOBRIDGES consortium merges a variety of complementary expertise, aiming to build a consistent multi-actor approach integrating 9 partners already involve in other projects like BIOWAYS, BIOVoices and BIOSTEP.

Contacts: Alexandre Almeida: alexandre@loba.pt

Website

 BIO4ECO project

 BIO4ECO project

Posted on by Louis Ferrini
Project concluded

BIO4ECO aims to improve regional and national policy processes and policy implementation and delivery addressing the transition to a low carbon economy, in relation with renewable energy use, energy efficiency of building, and forest and agricultural biomass.
The main expected outcomes are:

  • increase the share of renewable energy in the overall energy mix (17 M€ of ERDF funding benefited by the project)
  • take into account bioenergy and bioeconomy in all planning and decision-making
  • lay the groundwork for future integrated strategies and programmes for regional bioeconomy and carbon neutrality.

BIO4ECO will organise interregional and local learning process by thematic workshops, study visits and local stakeholder groups meetings, to achieve a greater integration among the lessons learned. These are going to be the cornerstone of the learning process.
Topics that will be worked in these events are the following:

  • Role of forests within regional and national low carbon and bioeconomy strategies and programmes
  • First-hand experience on integral solutions for bioenergy policies and strategies
  • The Energy-Foof-Water land use nexus: possible equilibrium for the low-carbon transition
  • How to increase social acceptance of bioenergy policies?
  • Priorization of bioenergy production at different geographical scales

Contacts: Adriano Raddi: adriano.raddi@ctfc.cat

Website

 BalticBiomass4Value project

 BalticBiomass4Value project

Posted on by Louis Ferrini
Project concluded

The Baltic Sea Region (BSR) holds a great potential for circular bioeconomy development. Therefore, the BalticBiomass4Value project aims to enhance capacity of public and private actors within the BSR to produce bioenergy in more environmentally sustainable and economically viable way by utilizing new biomass sources (chiefly, biological waste) for energy production, as well as possibilities to use bioenergy side streams for higher value bio-products. Biomass from different sources (agriculture, food and feed industry, forestry, wood industry, municipal waste and sewage sludge, fishery, algae), its logistics, various biomass conversion technologies and value chains will be mapped to identify best practices of bioenergy generation and the potential of more efficient and sustainable deployment of biomass in the BSR.

Seventeen partners from Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Germany, Poland, Sweden, Norway and the Russian Federation will bring together the producers of biomass and bio-based products, as well as relevant public authorities and policy stakeholders for the implementation of the project.

Contacts: Virginija Kargytė: virginija.kargyte@vdu.lt
Lena Huck: l.huck@fnr.de

Website

 AlpBioEco project

 AlpBioEco project

Posted on by Louis Ferrini
Project concluded

AlpBioEco is an EU project co-financed through the Interreg Alpine Space Programm and by the “Federal Transnational Cooperation Programme“ of the German Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community. The 13 project partners from 5 Alpine countries work together for an innovative sustainable development in the Alpine space. We focus on the potential of bioeconomy in the value chains of herbal foods and essences. In four working packages, we investigate current value chains for apples, walnuts and herbs, develop new products as well as new business models which will be tested in pilot studies. AlpBioEco contributes to the framework of conditions for innovation, resulting in eco-innovative business ideas and concepts for small and medium-sized enterprises in the Alpine region.
The European Union bioeconomy strategy addresses the production of renewable biological resources and their conversion into vital products. Expanding bioeconomy, particularly in rural areas, represents a major development potential. In the Alpine regions, this potential can however only be harnessed if the actors and municipalities cooperate closely and pursue shared objectives. The overall objective of AlpBioEco is to foster the sustainability of the local economy in the Alpine Space by the valorisation of innovative bioeconomical potentials. In our project we focus on bio-based food and botanical extract

Contacts: Anna Bäuerle: baeuerle@sigmaringen.de

Website

 Allthings.bioPRO project

 Allthings.bioPRO project

Posted on by Louis Ferrini
Project concluded

The context

Europe’s economy depends on oil and gas for energy and chemistry for all kinds of daily life products, but the use of fossil resources harms the environment and our climate. The bioeconomy offers a way out by providing industrial and consumer products made of biomass and waste.

This is a crucial moment for involving society in the transition to a more circular economy. Since all individuals, whether as citizens or consumers, will be affected, they should be able to play a role when shaping it. On the other hand, it goes without saying that the bio-based industry needs the input of citizens and consumers, to make sure that the products developed are in tune with consumers’ requirements and expectations.

In Allthings.bioPRO we put all emphasis on getting citizens involved in the bioeconomy and making their voices heard. We focused on issues and products, which connect with the daily life of citizens and consumers. Main themes were the creation of growth and jobs, Kids & School, Food Packaging and Fashion & Textiles. The personal viewpoint of a consumer considers quality, functionality and the costs of products but does also care about sustainable production and the environmental impact of daily life products.

Using a co-creation approach involving both citizens and experts, Allthings.bioPRO developed a serious game and a mobile app which serve as tools to raise awareness and educate about bioeconomy and bio-based products in a fun way. To ensure focus, we already decided on the subject of the serious game (Mission BioHero) but left the final creation of its content to the engagement process. The game is composed of 8 so-called campaigns, with each campaign focusing on a specific theme within the bioeconomy. It consists of quizzes, real-life and in-game tasks, a lexicon and mini-games with the goal to turn a fossil-based value chain into a bio-based one. The mobile app (Label BioHero) focuses uron non-food and non-energy bio-based products. It scans (eco-)labels, logos and EU certification schemes, providing information on the sustainable performance of the scanned bio-based/bio-degradable product. The serious game and mobile app can be downloaded free of charge in Google Play Stores and App Stores. Both applications generate data in anonymised form that can be used by stakeholders in the bio-based industry and provide important insights for policy.

Assuming that the bioeconomy is about the transition from a fossil-based economy to a sustainable bio-based economy we will start from the usual product case, which is often made from fossil-based materials. We developed both applications to support citizens in their change from a fossil-based lifestyle to a bio-based and sustainable one.

Contacts:

Martin Behrens, Fachagentur Nachwachsende Rohstoffe e.V. (FNR): m.behrens@fnr.de

Jurjen Spekreijse, BTG Biomass Technology Group BV: spekreijse@btgworld.com

Website