Analysing Market Conditions and Designing Business Models within BE-Rural's OIPs

Gerardo Anzaldúa; John Tarpey

Analysing Market Conditions and Designing Business Models within BE-Rural's OIPs

Deliverable 5.1 H2020 research project BE-Rural

Publication: Document
Citation: Gerardo Anzaldua, Ariel Araujo, John Tarpey (2020). D5.1: Analysing market conditions and designing business models within BE-Rural's OIPs. Briefing paper. Deliverable of the H2020 BE-Rural project

This hands-on guidance document supports regional actors in designing viable business models for the bioeconomy. Based on practical experiences from five Open Innovation Platforms (OIPs) across Europe, it outlines how to analyse regional market conditions, engage diverse stakeholders and translate promising bio-based product ideas into actionable business strategies. The result: a modular toolkit to unlock local biomass potential and drive sustainable rural development.

Empowering Regional Bioeconomies through Business Model Innovation

To foster sustainable, inclusive and place-based bioeconomy strategies in rural Europe, the BE-Rural project has developed a practical framework for market assessment and business model design. Aimed at OIP facilitators and regional stakeholder groups, this document provides structured support for co-creating locally adapted business concepts based on region-specific biomass streams.

Setting the Scene: From Context Analysis to Technology Options

The foundation of this approach lies in a comprehensive analysis of each region’s political, economic, social, technological, environmental and legal (PESTEL) conditions. Paired with data on biomass availability and utilisation barriers, the document enables a targeted exploration of feasible technologies and value chains – from agricultural residues to aquatic biomass and forest-based resources.

Task Forces as Engines of Bio-Based Innovation

Central to the methodology is the creation of a Task Force on Market Assessment and Business Model Design within each OIP. These multi-actor groups apply the Quintuple Helix Innovation Model, bringing together knowledge and resources from academia, industry, policy, civil society and the natural environment. They serve as agile teams to drive forward user-centric product development, leveraging local know-how and stakeholder input.

Structured Tools: Seven Steps Towards a Bio-Based Business Model

The document introduces a seven-step assessment framework, designed for non-specialists and field-tested in EU-funded innovation projects. Activities include market segmentation, target group selection, SWOT analysis and the use of a tailored Business Model Canvas adapted for the bioeconomy context. Templates and guidance are provided throughout to support capacity building and stakeholder learning.

Outlook: From Business Model to Regional Bioeconomy Strategy

Beyond its function as a design tool, the framework encourages integration of market insights into broader regional bioeconomy strategies. It fosters reflective learning processes and aims to create enabling conditions for long-term transformation through localised, circular value chains.

Regional bioeconomy strategies need practical frameworks: This BE-Rural guidance equips innovation platforms to analyse local markets, co-design bio-based business models and anchor them in inclusive, multi-actor processes.

Contact

Gerardo Anzaldúa

Co-Coordinator Water

Senior Fellow

Inspiring Regional Agendas for Inclusive Bioeconomies

BE-RURAL Final Conference

11 - 14 July 2022
Frombork, Poland

Event:Workshop

Within the framework of the Global Bioeconomy Summit 2020, Holger Gerdes and Zoritza Kiresiewa, together with the POWER4BIO project, organized a breakout session on "Local-Level Bioeconomy" on 18 November 2020. This session formed part of the workshop "Rebooting the economy – sustainability, growth, and climate action delivered by the bioeconomy," which the European Commission's DG RTD hosted in collaboration with BE-Rural, POWER4BIO, and other partners. Holger and Zoritza took charge of the program design: they introduced BE-Rural, implemented participatory methods, and coordinated the flow via digital platforms so that more than 30 participants engaged interactively.

Benefits of Participatory Development of Regional Bioeconomy Strategies

18 November 2020
online

Publication:Book Section

Cover of the book "Zukünfte nachhaltiger Bioökonomie. Kommunikation und Partizipation in neuen Wirtschaftsformen"

A democratic dialogue with a broad spectrum of stakeholders and the society is considered necessary for the transformation to a sustainable bio-based economy. As such, several dedicated bioeconomy strategies across Europe and beyond outline objectives towards broader stakeholder and public engagement. In this book chapter Zoritza Kiresiewa, Laurens Duin and Holger Gerdes address the degree of participation and the role of the individual actor groups and society in strategy development processes and recommend concrete actions for more inclusive and effective stakeholder and public engagement.

Limitations of Stakeholder and Public Engagement in Bioeconomy Strategy Development Processes

Year 2022

Publication:Policy Brief

First page of the BE-Rural Policy Brief "Enabling rural regions to recognise the ecological boundaries framing the bioeconomy"

BE Rural developed and piloted a new framework to help decision makers consider ecological limits when drafting regional bioeconomy strategies and roadmaps, and with this to contribute to Priority 3 of the EU Bioeconomy Strategy: "Understand the ecological boundaries of the bioeconomy".

Enabling Rural Regions to Recognize the Ecological Boundaries Framing the Bioeconomy

Year 2022

Publication:Report

This report provides the context and justification for the development of BE-Rural's Sustainability Screening, a description of its methodological procedure, and the syntheses of results from the two experimental implementations of the approach in the Stara Zagora and Vidzeme regions, which are included in full as annexes to this report. The last chapters present the main lessons learned from these two pilots and the overall conclusions of the task.

Note on the Development of a Sustainability Screening for Regional Bioeconomy Strategies

Deliverable 5.4 H2020 Research project BE-Rural

Year 2022

Publication:Document

Rural regions in Southeastern and Eastern Europe are facing multiple challenges such as a rural exodus, aging populations, a declining industrial base and low innovation performance. As such, they are particularly vulnerable to the negative impacts of climate change. In response to this, stakeholders in the five BE-Rural regions developed bioeconomy strategies and roadmaps for enhanced rural development. This publication presents short summaries of the regional strategies and roadmaps focusing on the regional context in terms of available natural resources, the social, economic and political context, the strategy development process and the priorities outlined in the strategies.

Regional Strategy and Roadmap Documents

Deliverable 5.3 H2020 research project BE-Rural

Year 2021

Event:Conference

The objective of the online event is to explore the extent to which the implementation of a bioeconomy concept can leverage the reactivation of regional economies across Europe.

Exploring the Bioeconomy as a Central Pillar of Regional Recovery Plans during and after COVID-19 – BE-Rural Mid-Term Conference

8 September 2020
online

Publication:Document

The guidance for policy makers included in the brief is intended to help orient decision-makers in navigating the various project outputs by comparing and contrasting the BE-Rural and POWER4BIO deliverables, with the aim of guiding the reader towards the most relevant project outputs for their given context. Based on this guidance, the final section of the document provides detailed summaries of the six deliverables for further reference.

Small-Scale Technologies and Business Models for Regional Bioeconomies

Joint Guidance Document for Stakeholders

Year 2020

Publication:Document

With the recent update of its Bioeconomy Strategy, the guidance of its advisory bodies and the engagement of regional groups and representatives, Europe has found a new track towards a sustainable bioeconomy, building on the notion that regions are the most appropriate territorial level at which to implement bioeconomy strategies. The BE-Rural project incorporates this regional focus into its core vision, putting its regional Open Innovation Platforms (OIPs) front and center in the process of studying the potential for regional bioeconomies, and articulating and implementing strategies to make them a reality.

The Macro-environment Surrounding BE-Rural's Open Innovation Platforms

Deliverable 2.2 H2020 Research project BE-Rural

Year 2019

Language: English
Authorship: Gerardo Anzaldúa

Ariel Araujo

John Tarpey
Funding: European Commission, Directorate-General Research & Innovation (DG Research & Innovation), International
Published by: Ecologic Institute, Germany
Year: 2020
Dimension: 63 pp.
Project: Bio-based Strategies and Roadmaps for Enhanced Rural and Regional Development in the EU (BE-Rural)
Project ID: 2815
Table of contents: Click to show full table of contents

1 Purpose and target audience of this briefing paper
2 Context framing: local conditions and bioeconomy potential
2.1 OIP Stara Zagora, Bulgaria
2.2 OIP Strumica, North Macedonia
2.3 OIP Baltic Lagoons, Poland
2.4 OIP Vidzeme and Kurzeme, Latvia
2.5 OIP Covasna, Romania
3 First outlook: technology options and business models
3.1 OIP Stara Zagora, Bulgaria
3.2 OIP Strumica, North Macedonia
3.3 OIP Baltic Lagoons, Poland
3.4 OIP Vidzeme and Kurzeme, Latvia
3.5 OIP Covasna, Romania
4 Designating the Task Force on Market Assessment and Business Model Design
4.1 Why do we need to establish a Task Force?
4.2 Relevant considerations for selecting the Task Force members
4.2.1 Defining the bio-based products/services and enabling technologies that will be investigated
4.2.2 Determining the position and potential contributions of regional stakeholders
4.2.3 Getting all stakeholder groups represented in the Task Force
4.3 Timeline, consultation checkpoints and feedback sessions
5 Conducting the market assessment and designing business models
5.1 Proposed methodology
5.1.1 Structure of the assessment framework
5.1.2 Roles and responsibilities in conducting an assessment
5.2 Assessment templates
5.2.1 Exercise 1: Market Segmentation
5.2.2 Exercise 2: Target Group Selection
5.2.3 Exercise 3: Market Size Estimation
5.2.4 Exercise 4: Market Growth Rate
5.2.5 Exercise 5: SWOT Analysis
5.2.6 Exercise 6: SWOT Priority Score
5.2.7 Exercise 7: Business Model Canvas
6 Looking forward
6.1 Outlook towards the formulation of bio-based strategy and roadmap documents
6.2 Reflecting and documenting the lessons learned
Annex I – Sample Questionnaire for first consultation checkpoint
Analysing market conditions and designing business models within BE-Rural’s OIPs 7
Annex II – Online resources to inform Exercise 3: Market Size Estimation
Keywords: Agriculture

Bioeconomy

Economics

Resource Conservation + Circular Economy

bio-based business models, market assessment, Business Model Canvas, sustainable rural development, bioeconomy strategy, bio-based product development, stakeholder engagement, innovation in biomass utilisation, circular economy, user-centric innovation

Poland, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Latvia, Romania, Europe, Stara Zagora, Strumica, Vistula Lagoon, Szczecin Lagoon, Covasna, Southeast Europe, Baltic Sea region, rural regions of Europe, structurally weak regions, European model regions

Quintuple Helix Innovation Model, SWOT analysis, market segmentation, business strategy development, Open Innovation Platforms, participatory process design, stakeholder mapping, task force methodology, regional bioeconomy roadmap, H2020 capacity building

Attachments

2815-BE-Rural-D5-1-Market-conditions-business-models.pdf (1.89 MB)

Further Links

BE-Rural project website

Adaptation
Agriculture
Arctic
Biodiversity
Bioeconomy
Cities
Climate
Climate Foreign Policy
Coastal + Marine
Communication
Consumer Policy
Culture + Ecology
Digitalization
EU
Economics
Education
Energy
Environmental Law – Ecologic Legal
Evaluation
Events
Finance
Food
Foreign Policy
Governance
Health
Indicators
Industry
International Development
Land Use
Mobility
Nature-based Solutions and Green Infrastructure
Plastics
Public Diplomacy
Resource Conservation + Circular Economy
Trade
Water