Evaluation of BE-Rural's Stakeholder and Public Engagement Activities

Dr. Zoritza Kiresiewa; Holger Gerdes; Gerardo Anzaldúa; Lily Teitelbaum; Clément Robijns; Stefan Kah; Neli Georgieva

Evaluation of BE-Rural's Stakeholder and Public Engagement Activities

Publication: Report
Citation: Kiresiewa, Z., Gerdes, H., Anzaldúa, G., et al., 2021: Evaluation Report. BE-Rural Project, Deliverable D6.3. Ecologic Institute.

The BE-Rural Evaluation Report takes stock of the project's work to promote bioeconomy strategies in Europe's rural regions. Co-authored by Ecologic Institute's scientists Dr. Zoritza Kiresiewa, Holger Gerdes, and Gerardo Anzaldúa, the report reflects on achievements, challenges, and lessons learned.

Over three years, BE-Rural worked with Open Innovation Platforms (OIPs) in five regions to design and pilot regional bioeconomy strategies. The project facilitated capacity-building workshops, developed educational materials for schools, organised stakeholder dialogues, and supported the creation of small-scale bio-based business models. It also fostered exchange across borders and disciplines, bringing together policy, research, and practice to explore sustainable rural development pathways.

The evaluation highlights these activities, assesses their impact, and offers recommendations for future initiatives aiming to mainstream bio-based approaches in rural policy and practice.

The BE-Rural Evaluation Report shows how regional innovation platforms, capacity-building, education, and stakeholder dialogue can drive sustainable bioeconomy strategies in rural regions.

Contact

Dr. Zoritza Kiresiewa

Coordinator EU Research

Senior Fellow

Mainstreaming the Bioeconomy in Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) Projects in the Western Balkans

Policy Brief

Year 2022

Publication:Policy Brief

How can small-scale bio-based businesses secure the support they need to thrive? This BE-Rural policy brief highlights the main barriers to financing and outlines key recommendations for policymakers.

Funding for Bio-based Business Models

Policy Brief

Year 2022

Publication:Report

Through capacity-building exercises in five European regions, facilitators worked with entrepreneurs and stakeholders to design locally-adapted business models and assess their market potential. The results provide concrete building blocks for regional bioeconomy strategies and roadmaps.

Small-scale Bio-based Business Models and their Market Potentials

Summary Report

Year 2021

Publication:Document

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.

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

Deliverable 5.1 H2020 research project BE-Rural

Year 2020

Event:Conference

After 40 months of collaboration, the BE-Rural project concluded with its Final Conference, held in Frombork, Poland, from 11 to 14 July 2022. Approximately 40 project members and regional bioeconomy stakeholders – representing research organisations, universities, cluster associations, local action groups and regional authorities from eight EU Member States and candidate countries – gathered to reflect on BE-Rural's achievements.

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

Language: English
Authorship: Dr. Zoritza Kiresiewa

Holger Gerdes

Gerardo Anzaldúa

Lily Teitelbaum (BIOCOM AG)

Clément Robijns (BIOCOM AG)

Stefan Kah (European Policies Research Centre, University of Strathclyde)

Neli Georgieva (European Policies Research Centre, University of Strathclyde)
Funding: European Commission, Directorate-General Research & Innovation (DG Research & Innovation), International
Year: 2022
Dimension: 44 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

Introduction
Evaluation of BE-Rural’s stakeholder and public engagement activities
Public engagement
Educational events
Bio-based pop-up stores
Website social media and newsletter
Capacity building and knowledge exchange
Seminars
Cross-regional exchange
Teachers’ summer school
Participatory strategy development
Stakeholder Working Group meetings
Business development activities
Conclusions
Keywords: Bioeconomy

International Development

Resource Conservation + Circular Economy

BE-Rural evaluation, bioeconomy strategies, rural development Europe, open innovation platforms, stakeholder engagement, capacity building bioeconomy, sustainable rural innovation, bio-based business models, policy recommendations bioeconomy, regional bioeconomy evaluation

Romania, North Macedonia, Latvia, Poland, Bulgaria, Covasna, Strumica, Vidzeme, Kurzeme, Szczecin Lagoon, Vistula Lagoon

market assessment, business model design, stakeholder engagement, workshops

Attachments

2815-BE-Rural-D6-3-Evaluation-Report.pdf (1.92 MB)

Further Links

EventConferenceEffective Stakeholder and Public Engagement in the Bioeconomy – BioSTEP Conference

Over a period of three years the BioSTEP project developed participation tools to involve the public in the development of the European bioeconomy. Different types of participation were sought. During the final conference on 22 February 2018 in Brussels, the... Read more

Conference:Effective Stakeholder and Public Engagement in the Bioeconomy – BioSTEP Conference

Date: 22 February 2018
Location: Brussels, Belgium

EventWorkshopThe Future is Bright, the Future is the European Bioeconomy? – BioSTEP Stakeholder Workshop

The aim of this workshop is to identify and discuss challenges, opportunities, and policy gaps surrounding the development of bioeconomy strategies across Europe. The outcome of this process will be a list of targeted policy recommendations for the (further) development... Read more

Workshop:The Future is Bright, the Future is the European Bioeconomy? – BioSTEP Stakeholder Workshop

Date: 14 April 2016
Location: Utrecht, Netherlands

EventConferenceEffective Stakeholder and Public Engagement in the Bioeconomy – BioSTEP Conference

Over a period of three years the BioSTEP project developed participation tools to involve the public in the development of the European bioeconomy. Different types of participation were sought. During the final conference on 22 February 2018 in Brussels, the... Read more

Conference:Effective Stakeholder and Public Engagement in the Bioeconomy – BioSTEP Conference

Date: 22 February 2018
Location: Brussels, Belgium

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