Bridging research and innovation efforts for a sustainable bioeconomy

Topic description

Scope:

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[1]. 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.

Scope:Proposals should address the following issue (B):

B.    Bridging research and innovation efforts for a sustainable bioeconomy[2]

Proposals should create links among various bioeconomy-related research and innovation activities carried out under different parts of Horizon 2020 and of the Seventh Framework Programme.  This should foster knowledge transfer of best practice in sustainable process and technologies and facilitate the flow from discovery to further research and innovation (e.g. through twinning, networking, exchanges) and help discoveries to reach the market faster.

The Commission considers that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU in the range of EUR 1–2 million for (B) would allow this specific challenge to be addressed appropriately. Nonetheless, this does not preclude submission and selection of proposals requesting other amounts.

Expected 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

[1] During the negotiation and implementation phases, synergies and complementarities with actions that will be selected under topics BG-11 and ISIB-2 should be ensured.

[2] COM(2012) 60 final