Towards a Europe of Bioeconomy Places

Expected Outcome:Project results are expected to contribute to all of the following expected outcomes:improved attractiveness of places through a systemic transition to “Bioeconomy Places”[1], leading to increased investment in the bio-based sectors, job creation and overall well-being of the population, while reducing environmental and climate impacts and promoting sustainable development;sustainable and qualified Bioeconomy Places based on environmental, social and economic indicators, including awareness and skills development, capacity building, food systems sustainability, and contribution to climate action and biodiversity goals, are developed, allowing for comparison (in terms of the elements outlined in this paragraph) and knowledge-sharing between different bioeconomy places. Scope:The local character of biomass and other biological resources and the high number of micro-companies and SMEs involved in sectors that deal with biological resources explain why research and innovations are best developed in line with the local and regional context. “Places” (geographical defined areas as defined in the previous footnote) play an important role in the transition to a sustainable and circular EU bioeconomy and have proven to act as a good platform for matching EU top-level policies and best practices with bottom-up entrepreneurship and innovation that is mobilised to meet an ambition and vision for the bioeconomy. Bioeconomy places are expected to lead the transition to a sustainable and circular bioeconomy by building their capacity to develop and deploy innovative bioeconomy solutions within a clearly defined local/regional governance framework and vision that is aligned to EU priorities and policies.Proposals should:develop definitions of and benchmarks that can allow to qualify a “Place” as “Bioeconomy Place” (i.e. a label to be awarded to “Places” that meet the definitions and benchmarks developed as part of the project), linked to and built upon the groundwo