BEAGLE proposes an innovative methodology for value creation from the uptake of the research results applying the Blue Ocean strategy. It explores new market niches by fostering sustainable value chains in untapped markets, while promoting disruptive synergies and innovation. This will be achieved through constructing a BEAGLE network of 3 universities, 1 technology centre, 1 innovating communities’ manager and 4 industry clusters with a work plan which will be implemented by the active participation of 240 professionals from 7 European countries, both innovators (from industry) and researchers (academia and tech centre) through the application to an ad hoc open call. Multiple disciplines, sectors and geographic areas are called to connect and interact in this A-I BEAGLE community (mainly those of the participating entities). By the end of the project the goal is to unveil 20 new market niches, the Blue Oceans, and to co-create 20 innovation proposals with specific roadmaps. To facilitate the co-creation experiment 12 Mixed Teams will be set, expert researchers and TTOs officers form the academia and the technology centre will merge with the cluster managers and their representatives from the industry clusters. Those actors will lead, manage, and supervise the whole work plan starting by the recruitment of professionals from their own institutions (the mentioned open call), to actively join BEAGLE as participants of the proposed innovation funnel. Three phases are planned: I) discovering opportunities through co-creation activities (workshops, survey, interviews, video-factsheets, system innovation approaches); II) co-creating the innovation proposals; and III) consolidating 20 new innovative market niches to attract investment. A dedicated marketplace linked to the F6S platform (4.4 million members) will facilitate the implementation of the project and its further sharing of results and lessons learned, will ensure its continuity after the project’s funding period.

If food loss and waste (FLW) were a country, it would be the third leading cause of greenhouse gas emissions. FLW also burdens waste management systems and exacerbates food insecurity, , contributing significantly to the three global crises of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste. PRECIOUS, an transdisciplinary alliance of 20 entities from 11 EU countries, believes that reliable data on the environmental impacts of FLW is crucial for accelerating EU progress towards climate targets and reducing environmental impacts (including biodiversity) across the food supply chain. The project´s collective understanding is that the challenge goes beyond measuring the amount of food saved or CO2 emissions. When food is wasted, valuable and limited resources such as water, land use, and energy are lost, while 8.9% of the worldwide population is suffering from hunger accordingto FAO, therefore, depleting the planet's natural resources. It is critical to broaden our understanding of the issue to transform the food system and raise public awareness that motivate change. PRECIOUS aims to contribute to the transformation of food systems by addressing existing data gaps and developing a unified and openly accessible evaluation framework to quantify the economic, environmental, and social impacts of strategies to reduce FLW, taking into account potential rebound effects. The project will engage stakeholders from 2 Use Cases (Spain and Greece) and 3 Co-creation and Replication Nodes (Poland, Lithuania, Hungary) to address systemic causes across geographical boundaries. The project aims to induce a fundamental change in attitudes and behaviours towards food consumption and disposal through collaborative efforts and innovative methods, fostering a more just and sustainable EU food system.

The building and construction (B&C) industry, a significant global economic sector with a market size of $5.4 trillion in 2021, is projected to reach $11.1 trillion by 2031. Despite its significance, the sector is a leading contributor to environmental degradation, accounting for a large portion of global energy consumption, carbon emissions, natural resource depletion, and solid waste generation. ECOFUNC seeks to mitigate these impacts by advancing the use of carbon-negative polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), produced by microorganisms using CO2 as feedstock, thereby reducing the sector’s environmental footprint. The project will establish the first EU-based circular value chains for applications such as ventilated façade cladding, ceiling tiles, and internal partition walls. This will be achieved through the development of recyclable PHA-based panels, offering a sustainable alternative to conventional, non-biobased, and non-recyclable materials. ECOFUNC will also integrate bio-based flame retardants, natural fibers, and PHA foams to create high-performance panels, targeting a global warming potential of under 0.5 kg CO2-eq/m² and aiming to reduce life cycle costs by up to 20%. Guided by sustainability frameworks, including the DNSH and SSbD principles, the project is driven by a consortium of industry leaders and research institutions working on PHAs, fiber processing, panel production, and product validation. As part of its broader impact, ECOFUNC will explore the use of panels in the automotive sector as a spillover activity. Furthermore, end-of-life strategies will be implemented, incorporating both chemical recycling to convert PHA back into virgin-grade material and mechanical recycling to re-purpose it for applications in furniture and automotive. The project will develop 11 technologies and 10 value chains aimed at transforming the B&C industry, demonstrating the technical and economic viability of PHAs in promoting sustainable material practices.

agroBRIDGES aims to build bridges between producers and consumers, rebalancing farmers market position by empowering them with knowledge about new business and marketing models. The proposal will mobilise local farmers through Short Food Supply Chains (SFSCs), focussing on decreasing intermediaries and their margin. Precisely, agroBRIDGES will follow a knowledge-based, holistic, systemic approach built on two pillars: (1) a multi-actor framework pursuing demand-driven innovation; (2) a combination of communication materials, training programs, events organisation and IT tools gathered in the agroBRIDGES Toolbox as the ultimate instrument that will provide practical support to producers, consumers, contracting authorities, distributors, academia, etc, improving farmers position in the value chain. Both regional and pan-European approaches will be considered along with the project, where 12 Beacon regions will be involved in the creation of this multi-actor framework, directly involving ca. 400 people in information collection, knowledge exchange, co-creation, co-development and validation of project outputs. Full EU roll-out, replication and training will be conducted, supported by a strong dissemination campaign and coordination with other EU projects and initiatives as SCAR-AKIS and EIP AGRI through a clustering plan. Main impact in the short term will be ca. 150 persons trained on topics related to food procurement and how to mobilise innovative agri-food supply chains and support local producers, while in the medium-, long-term it is expected a 5-8% increase of farms totally or partially involved in direct sales to consumers and an increase in farmers income for the value of the output ca. 35% average thanks the developed new SFSCs models. This way, agroBRIDGES will make an ambitious contribution to the Common Agricultural Policy unlocking the full potential of Europe’s inner wealth by placing producers as a cornerstone for boosting European agri-food sector.

The overall objectives of the BIOBoost project are to increase the latent potential of the participating innovation agencies, to learn from leading innovator regions, and to cement this knowledge and experience in the organisations, building and expanding networks, expanding the cooperation and enlarging the participation of more diverse innovation stakeholders and territories to existing successful initiatives in the bioeconomy, including agri-food, forestry, bio-based chemicals, materials and products, and bioenergy. The partnership will implement a range of activities via peer-to-peer learning, including study visits and staff exchanges, to develop closer relationships within the partnership, and with the wider regional innovation ecosystems, as well as to learn improved innovation support measures. These will be cemented via operational work to build and develop innovation ecosystems and SMEs via hackathons and challenges (160 organisations involved), by providing direct SME support on innovation management (24 cross-border KAM cases), and helping widening country SMEs towards financing of innovation projects (50+ cases). Over 450 SMEs will be engaged with during the implementation of the project, which will include active cooperation with 20 other innovation ecosystems. BIOBoost connects 7 homogenous EU regions in terms of similarities of RIS3 and S3 Platform synergies related to bioeconomy and digitalisation. The multidisciplinary partnership has been strategically selected, to work in an inclusive and interactive bottom-up process, to discover potential new activities, and identify new opportunities that emerge from this interaction. Despite the homogeneity in terms of regional smart specialisation, the consortium consists of partners with a wide variety of complementary skills and experience, covering a wide geographical area and with considerable economic, social and environmental differences.