An Innovative, Sustainable and Inclusive Bioeconomy in Europe

Just been reading through the calls in Horizon 2020 and found this topic - Engaging society, reaching end users and linking with policy makers for a participative governance of the bioeconomy - which really underpins the future of the bioeconomy in Europe.

Specific challenge: The bioeconomy encompasses the production of renewable biological resources and the conversion of these resources and waste streams into value added products, such as food, feed, bio-based products and bioenergy. It cuts across many different sectors and research and innovation fields, and has a wide range of socio-economic implications. Addressing comprehensively inter-connected societal challenges related to the bioeconomy requires: 1. Ensuring a responsible and participative governance, by overcoming the current lack of information and public debate on the bioeconomy, while responding to citizens' needs and concerns,  by providing adequate support to new promising markets, and by reconciling conflicting policies and ethical concerns; and  2. Integrating efforts undertaken throughout all steps of the research and innovation chain, to facilitate the flow from discovery to market applications and to speed up the innovation process.

Impact: Proposals should show how some, or all, of the following impacts will be achieved:
· Engage the public to develop an understanding of the bioeconomy and its consequences and benefits.
· Improve the availability and quality of information on bioeconomy products and processes, including their social, economic and environmental impacts and the related ethical concerns, and foster future-oriented multi-stakeholders dialogues
· Facilitate the development and acceptability of regional and national bioeconomy strategies
· Speed up the pace of innovation, by bridging the gap between discovery and market, through closer ties between activities throughout the research and innovation chain
· Contribute to increasing the number of innovative products and processes reaching the market, and increasing the number of new companies and new jobs created from EU-funded research and innovation projects. Impacts could also be important on standards and policy development.

Type of action: Coordination and support actions. Proposals should foresee high impact information, awareness raising, educational and debate activities on the bioeconomy. They should address the creation of national or regional multi-stakeholder bioeconomy platforms, for informed debates involving policy makers, the various stakeholders (scientists, business, non-governmental organisations, etc.) and citizens, building on existing tools (such as the Bioeconomy Observatory) and scientific studies (such as foresight). These platforms should also facilitate the development of balanced and informed national and regional bioeconomy strategies.