Bioeconomy as an economic subsystem utilizes renewable biological resources to produce a wide range of goods and services, aiming for sustainability and reduced reliance on non-renewable resources. Solutions developed through this framework represent a significant part of contemporary societal efforts in the field of sustainability. To fulfill its potential the bioeconomic sector must break some barriers, implement structural reforms, and improve cross-border collaboration.
In this context, the project BEAMING (Bioeconomy Excellence Alliance for Stimulating Innovative and Inclusive Green Transition) has been officially set in motion on the 1st of January 2024, by 17 consortium partners from diverse European regions including the Institute for Development and Innovation. The four-year project is supported by the European Union’s Horizon Europe Research and Innovation program, and it’s committed to fostering cross-border collaboration in the bioeconomy sector.
The main aim of BEAMING is to boost innovation, knowledge exchange, and technology transfer in the field of bioeconomy through collaboration among European higher education institutions while enhancing their competitiveness and visibility. This includes strengthening the skills and capacities of early-career researchers, fostering institutional reform, promoting multidisciplinary collaboration, enhancing technology transfer, and encouraging an inclusive institutional culture.
Besides contributing to various project activities, the Institute for Development and Innovation has two distinct roles. First, the assessment of Open Science practices in the European Union and widening countries including a comparative review of institutional research policies, procedures, and practices and a series of case studies of the 12 partner higher education institutions and research institutes followed by gap analyses all resulting in roadmaps to successful implementation of recommendations. The second is related to aligning BEAMING results with ERA priorities (European research area), increasing their social impact and overall sustainability of the project. This will be done by developing a widely adoptable BEAMING toolbox for ERA implementation and organizing various events and workshops on this topic.