D4.3 - Report on the collaboration with relevant initiatives – P1

Deliverable 4.3 1 FOCUS STRATEGIC THINKING CONSULTANTS APRIL 2025 Report on the collaboration with relevant initiatives – P1 DELIVERABLE D4.3 Deliverable 4.3 2 Views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Executive Agency (REA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. © 2025 by BBioNets consortium is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0. Document information Document ID D4.3 Title Report on the collaboration with relevant initiatives – P1 Work Package WP4–Dissemination, Communication, Exploitation and Sustainability – P1 Due Date 30/04/2025 Delivery Date 25/04/2025 Dissemination Level PU Partner Responsible FOCUS Strategic Thinking Consultants PC Main Authors Ephy Kouzi - FOCUS Dafni Delioglani – FOCUS Iakovos Delioglanis - FOCUS Peer reviewers Reviewer 1 Paula Rosa Álvarez - CTA Coordinator Carmen Girón Domínguez - MTU Document history Version Date Main Modifications Author(s) 0.1 10/06/2024 Initial structure FOCUS 0.2 20/03/2025 First draft ready for internal review FOCUS 0.3 15/04/2025 First draft review CTA, MTU 0.4 24/04/2025 Final incorporation of partners’ input FOCUS 1.0 25/04/2025 Final version ready for submission FOCUS Deliverable 4.3 3 Table of Contents 1 Introduction ............................................................................................ 7 2 Strategy & Methodological Approach ...................................................... 8 2.1 Initial steps .............................................................................................................. 8 2.2 Identification of relevant projects ........................................................................... 8 2.3 Selection criteria ...................................................................................................... 9 2.3.1 Pertinent key words .................................................................................................. 10 2.3.2 Target audience ........................................................................................................ 10 2.3.3 Types of potential collaboration ............................................................................... 10 2.3.4 Timeline .................................................................................................................... 10 2.4 Contact initiation phase ......................................................................................... 11 2.5 Further collaborations ........................................................................................... 13 3 Overview of Partner Projects & Networks ............................................. 14 3.1 Projects participating in the SLRT .......................................................................... 15 3.2 Other platforms/networks ..................................................................................... 18 3.3 Individual projects (bilateral collaboration) ........................................................... 20 4 Collaboration Activities – P1 .................................................................. 21 4.1 Cross-promotion through Communication Channels ............................................ 21 4.2 Inter-project activities ........................................................................................... 24 4.2.1 Organised by BBioNets ............................................................................................. 25 4.2.2 Organised by other Platforms/Projects .................................................................... 29 4.3 Events for a wider audience .................................................................................. 31 4.3.1 Organised by 3rd parties ............................................................................................ 31 4.3.2 Organised by BBioNets ............................................................................................. 34 4.4 Other types of collaboration .................................................................................. 34 5 Conclusions ........................................................................................... 36 Deliverable 4.3 4 List of Figures Figure 1: Partial view of the exploratory excel file used for identifying relevant projects. .................... 9 Figure 2: Selection criteria for relevant projects. .................................................................................... 9 Figure 3: Contact initiation email template. ......................................................................................... 11 Figure 4: BBioNets one-page presentation. .......................................................................................... 12 Figure 5: Example of individual .pptx file. ............................................................................................. 13 Figure 6: SLRT repository organisation. ................................................................................................. 15 Figure 7: Slide from the BCE’s ESNI Working Group meeting (12 Nov. 2024). ..................................... 18 Figure 8: Rural Bioeconomy Alliance projects (24 Apr. 2025). .............................................................. 19 Figure 9: BBioNets’ dedicated template for website cross-promotion. ............................................... 21 Figure 10: BBioNets website – ‘Synergies’ page. .................................................................................. 22 Figure 11: SYMBA’s promotion of BBioNets’ Newsletter. ..................................................................... 23 Figure 12: BRILIAN’ social media post about BBioNets’ Newsletter. .................................................... 23 Figure 13: Simultaneous promotion of the SLRT and participating project’s event. ............................ 24 Figure 14: Announcement of joining the SLRT. ..................................................................................... 24 Figure 15: SLRT mention on newsletter. ............................................................................................... 24 Figure 16: Example of document for sharing information. ................................................................... 25 Figure 17: Cooperation inaugural event - Meeting Overview document. ............................................ 26 Figure 18: Cooperation inaugural event – project presentation template. .......................................... 26 Figure 19: Cooperation inaugural event – meeting screenshot. ........................................................... 26 Figure 20: SLRT - “BioPills” campaign meeting screenshot. .................................................................. 27 Figure 21: BioPills campaign - Inaugural post visual. ............................................................................ 28 Figure 22: BioPills campaign - BBioNets post visual. ............................................................................. 28 Figure 23: Group screenshot at the bimonthly RBA meeting with all 3 BBioNets representatives attending (28 Jan. 2025). ....................................................................................................................... 31 List of Tables Table 1: BBioNets more consistent partner projects. ........................................................................... 14 Table 2: Brief overview of the SLRT Projects in alphabetical order. ..................................................... 15 Table 3: Other Networks. ...................................................................................................................... 18 Table 4: Individual Projects (bilateral collaboration). ........................................................................... 20 Table 5: Indicative examples of Newsletter cross-promotion. ............................................................. 22 Table 6: Indicative examples of cross-promotion ................................................................................. 23 Table 7: Meetings organised by BBioNets (beyond SLRT activities). .................................................... 28 Table 8: Meetings organised by BBioNets’ Partnering Networks and Projects. ................................... 29 Table 9: Online meetings organised by 3rd parties for a wider audience. ........................................... 31 Table 10: Onsite meetings organised by 3rd parties for a wider audience. ......................................... 32 Table 11: BBioNets Events & Activities where other Projects collaborated. ........................................ 34 Table 12: Miscellaneous partnership activities. .................................................................................... 34 Deliverable 4.3 5 Table of Abbreviations Abbreviation Description AKIS Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems BBTs Bio-Based Technologies BCE Biorefine Cluster Europe D Deliverable DoA Description of the Action EC European Commission ETR European Transnational Regions FANs Forest and Agriculture Networks GDPR General Data Protection Regulation KPIs Key Performance Indicators M Project month OGs Operational Groups RBA Rural Bioeconomy Alliance SLRT Standing Liaison Round Table WP Work Package Deliverable 4.3 6 Executive Summary This document presents an overview of the collaboration activities undertaken by BBioNets with other EU-funded projects and initiatives. It outlines the strategic approach used to identify and engage with relevant projects, and the series of activities performed to reach its targets. Since the early stages of the project, collaboration has always been a core component of the BBioNets strategy, designed to leverage synergies, foster knowledge exchange across related projects and, thus, maximise their overall impact. The process of identifying relevant projects began during the preparation phase of the BBioNets “D4.1 - Plan for Dissemination and Exploitation including Communication activities”, when all consortium partners provided information on initiatives they considered relevant to the project’s scope and objectives. It was further pursued by conducting a thorough search in the EU Funding & Tenders Portal and recent Work Programmes to discern potentially relevant topics and successful proposals across various destinations. All pertinent information was collected in an excel file to facilitate project selection based on carefully determined selection criteria. Over the first reporting period, BBioNets established partnerships with 29 individual projects and 5 platforms/networks clustering more than 50 projects in total. Its activities focused on joint communication and dissemination, information and data sharing, and co-organisation of events. BBioNets’ key achievements include the alignment of dissemination efforts through coordinated social media campaigns, contribution to and promotion of each other’s newsletters and significant activities, attendance at joint meetings or events, the organisation of several joint workshops, cross-referencing in publications, and involvement or assistance in specific activities. These collaborative actions have contributed significantly to increasing the visibility and reach of both BBioNets and its partner projects, paving the way for a broader uptake of project outcomes. Overall, the results demonstrate the added value of inter-project collaboration in amplifying the impact of EU funding in research and innovation. Deliverable 4.3 7 1 Introduction Bringing together a variety of perspectives, approaches, and expertise, collaboration and networking among EU-funded projects are essential components to attain the goals of the European Commission’s research and innovation programmes, and deliver more impactful outcomes. This deliverable presents in detail the collaborative efforts of BBioNets with projects and initiatives that share similar objectives and audiences. The primary objective of such collaboration is to leverage synergies across multiple EU-funded projects to enhance practical knowledge and foster innovative solutions for farmers and foresters in the sustainable management and processing of biomass. By promoting cross-sector partnerships and knowledge exchange, these efforts encourage the adoption of best practices in biomass management, support innovation to enhance the value of agricultural and forestry biomass, and advance resource efficiency and sustainability in line with the EU Green Deal and the Circular Economy Action Plan. This collaboration aspires to deliver concrete, measurable outcomes, including the organisation of joint activities, the development of tailored training materials to support farmers and foresters, and improved dissemination and outreach strategies to ensure the effective transfer of research results to end-users, particularly farmers and foresters. The aim of this deliverable is twofold: • to outline the strategic framework guiding the collaboration process, including criteria for selecting relevant projects, and • to document the collaboration activities conducted during the reporting period to contribute to the overall objectives of the project. Building on the achievements of the first reporting period, BBioNets is dedicated to further enhancing collaboration with other EU-funded projects to amplify impact and drive meaningful progress. Upcoming activities will aim to broaden the scope of joint initiatives, deepen stakeholder engagement, and refine collaborative approaches to align closely with the strategic goals of the European Commission’s research and innovation programmes. By reinforcing these partnerships, the project seeks to create a stronger foundation for innovative solutions and sustainable practices that support the EU’s transition towards a circular and climate-neutral economy. Deliverable 4.3 8 2 Strategy & Methodological Approach 2.1 Initial steps The consortium began quite early, and at different instances, the endeavour to build bridges with other projects and initiatives, pre-dating even the development of a concrete methodology to this end: • Beginning of January 2024 (M3), the project coordinator and the “Liaison team”, FOCUS, engaged in a series of email exchanges with representatives of the EU-FarmBook project to explore collaboration ways. Based on their suggestion, numerous project partners registered to and participated in the EU-FarmBook pre-launch event, scheduled to be held on 8th February 2024. The expected collaboration would then be pursued according to the specifications provided during the event. • Mid-January, the BBioNets coordinator, Ms Carmen Girón Domínguez, was contacted by their homologue of the Soil-X-Change project (BBioNets’ sister project) and invited to present online the BBioNets vision and objectives at the Soil-X-Change kick-off meeting on 23rd January 2024. The dissemination manager of BBioNets also attended the meeting and exchanged a number of emails with Soil-X-Change representatives planting already the seeds for synergies. • On 3rd February 2024, the Liaison team initiated a first cooperation attempt with the ROBOCOOP-EU project at the occasion of the AGROTICA fair (Thessaloniki, GR), where BBioNets was officially present with a stand. Potential joint actions were discussed and both projects posted to that effect on their social media accounts. • On 15th February 2024, while drafting a suitable strategy, FOCUS applied for BBioNets to become a member of the Rural Bioeconomy Alliance (RBA) initiative. From that point on, all efforts made to create synergies with other projects and initiatives followed a carefully devised methodological approach, taking into account several parameters and considerations. 2.2 Identification of relevant projects The process of identifying relevant projects began during the preparation phase of “D4.1 - Plan for Dissemination and Exploitation including Communication activities”, when all consortium partners were asked to provide information about any projects they knew of and/or participated in that they deemed relevant to the BBioNets scope and objectives. The aim was to create an initial pool of potential “collaboration candidates” that could be contacted along the way. In parallel, FOCUS was conducting a thorough search in the EU Funding & Tenders Portal. After going through Work Programmes and discerning potentially relevant topics across various destinations, i.e. topics connected to the bioeconomy or primary producers, the team proceeded to research the proposals that had been selected for funding. An excel file was created to collect pertinent information about those projects, notably their scope and objectives, the countries represented, and a contact entity or person (Figure 1). Deliverable 4.3 9 Figure 1: Partial view of the exploratory excel file used for identifying relevant projects. 2.3 Selection criteria Having established a sufficiently exhaustive list of 96 candidate projects for that specific stage of the task, the discussion as to the project selection process began. It was widely debated that even though the bioeconomy and the rural world are closely related, all bioeconomy-related projects do not specifically target or incorporate in their scope farmers and/or foresters. The same way, all projects targeting primary producers do not necessarily delve into issues related to the bioeconomy aspect of BBioNets. To this end, the collaboration endeavour should aim at projects situated at the intersection of both domains. It was also determined that in order for external projects to react positively to our collaboration query, a satisfactory number of common elements or topics of interest should be identified before initiating contact. An additional consideration to be taken into account was the completion phase of the projects to be approached. It was thus important to start by considering BBioNets’ own cornerstones in terms of mission and objectives, and elaborating on the following elements (Figure 2): • Pertinent key words • Target audience • Types of potential collaboration • Timeline Figure 2: Selection criteria for relevant projects. Deliverable 4.3 16 BIO2REG aims to help greenhouse gas-intensive economies unlock their bioeconomy potential by moving towards model regions. The project encourages interregional exchange and cooperation, providing regional stakeholders with a conceptual framework for regionalisation in model regions. This involves mapping best practices in a circular and sustainable bioeconomy, assessing bioeconomy potential, offering mentoring and training, forming transition alliances, and making policy recommendations. BOOST4BIOEAST (B4B) was developed to support the BIOEAST Initiative, and aims to empower national stakeholders in the Central Eastern European and Baltic countries for the development of national bioeconomy action plans and to build long-lasting structures and spaces of dialogue for national and macro-regional cooperation. The project follows the footsteps of its predecessor, the BIOEASTsUP H2020 project, building upon its outcomes that laid the foundation for macro-regional networking among bioeconomy experts and policymakers through the development of its Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (BIOEAST SRIA) and 11 Bioeconomy Concept Papers of 2022. BRILIAN has been conceived to support the adoption of sustainable, cooperative business models in rural areas and enable a better transition to bio-based economies, playing a pivotal role in revitalising these regions and fostering sustainable economic and social development, making primary producers active actors of the supply chain. BRILIAN implements a multi-actor approach for the validation of a group of Actions for the Bio Innovation. Primary production in agriculture and forestry represents an essential part of the European circular bioeconomy. However, the involvement of primary producers in the circular bio-based economy is still limited, and the benefits are in most cases not fairly distributed along the value chain, to the disadvantage of primary producers. Fair and sustainable business models that create opportunities for rural entrepreneurship and develop new forms of successful rural business are therefore needed. C4B business models are designed to balance the share of power and profits across novel bio-based value chains to accelerate the development of rural communities and their economic viability and enhance the cooperation among farmers, foresters and industry. FOREST4EU (European innovation partnership network promoting operational group dedicated to forestry and agroforestry) aims at connecting existing OGs from different countries around Europe, in order to favour the transfer of knowledge and best practices between experts in this field. The project has established 5 multi-actor EU cross-countries Innovation Topic Hubs (ITHubs) related to 5 identified topics in forestry and agroforestry sectors: wood mobilisation; forest adaptation to climate change; improving approaches, models and tools of sustainable forest management; non-wood forests products; and agroforestry. The ITHubs act as cooperation and innovation networks for an efficient knowledge transfer-exchange between different regions in Europe. NUTRI-CHECK NET aims to establish a self-sustaining, multi-actor, Thematic Network that builds farm-level adoption of best field-specific nutrient management practices across Europe. In nine countries farmers’ Crop Nutrition Clubs (CNC) identify and share the nature of their uncertainties about crop nutrition, their challenges and barriers to change. Decision-systems and nutrition tools (including commercial products, services, and recent research outputs) are assembled by national experts from across Europe, including leading farmers, into a common online NUTRI-CHECK NET platform. CNCs will then evaluate the effectiveness of new protocols and tools selected from the toolbox to meet their main challenges. NUTRI-KNOW aims at improving nutrient management practices in European agriculture. By consolidating knowledge from various EIP-AGRI OGs across EU member states, it seeks to address urgent needs, challenges, and opportunities for farmers. Through a platform and thematic network, NUTRI-KNOW aims to facilitate the exchange of information, Deliverable 4.3 17 strengthen knowledge flows, and promote sustainable agricultural practices. Ultimately, the project aims to reduce reliance on imported mineral fertilisers, improve agricultural and environmental management, and enhance the overall efficiency and sustainability of the European agri-food sector. Oper8’s main objective is to communicate alternative weed control solutions of each operational group to key stakeholders through networks across the EU. With the ambition to achieve a high impact and improve the sustainability of the European agricultural sector, Oper8 brings together 8 operational groups from 7 countries from the Mediterranean, Atlantic, and Nordic areas to ensure a balanced representation of different production systems. Oper8 focuses on issues, needs and barriers identified by the involved operational groups with their approaches, identified challenges and dissemination activities. PRIMED co-creates innovative forms of cooperation to integrate primary producers in novel bioeconomy value chains with a multi-actor approach. To do so, PRIMED is developing new Circular Business Models in Bioeconomy (CBMB) to produce high-value biobased products through advanced biorefineries and will demonstrate them in five Living Labs (LLab). PRIMED aims to also empower multi-actors to codesign a collaborative ecosystem to accelerate the bioeconomy, with an Open Access knowledge hub and toolkit (PRIMED digital toolbox) Rural BioReFarmeries aims to advance the bio-based economy in Europe through the demonstration of a small-scale and decentralised green biorefinery model that enhances the economic resilience of Europe's rural regions ; by exploring the transformative potential of grass as a bio-based material, this initiative will help farmers adopt innovative technologies and embed circular and nature-friendly practices, while tapping into new income streams. SCALE-UP aims to adapt, implement and evaluate tools to help regional actors to overcome the apparent bottlenecks towards fully exploiting bioeconomy potentials in their region. Its goals include: 1. Increased capacity of regional multi-actor partnerships to accelerate the development of marketable bio-based products and services; 2. Strengthened collaboration between primary producers, SMEs, clusters, social actors, and policymakers; 3. Improved knowledge about nutrient recycling potentials in regional bioeconomies; 4. High level of awareness and understanding of the bioeconomy and its impacts on local communities; 5. Promotion of a sustainable, inclusive and just regional bioeconomy. ShapingBio provides evidence-based and concrete information and recommendations for better policy alignment and stakeholder actions to realise the cross-sectoral potential of the bioeconomy and to reduce the fragmentation across bio-based sectors and food system and policies across regions, domains and governance levels. It works on creating a better understanding and information basis of the bioeconomy innovation eco-system by providing a comprehensive mapping and analysis of initiatives, structures, policy instruments and key gaps across the EU macro-regions and different sectors related to policy and governance, applied R&D and technology transfer, collaboration (cross-sectoral), financing. SMURF is a transformative project aimed at providing sustainable solutions that benefit the entire European forest-based value chain. It is aligned with the EU’s Forest Strategy 2030 and works to enable 20 million forest owners across Europe to generate economic activity and provide employment in forests, while managing forests to conserve and adapt to climate change. By connecting farmers, researchers, policymakers, and stakeholders, Soil-X-Change (BBioNets’ sister project – funded under the same topic) aims to enhance Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems, promoting sustainability, smart agriculture, and climateneutrality. It focuses on harmonising and disseminating research and practical solutions through an EU-wide network of European Innovation Partnership Operational Groups. Soil-X-Change Deliverable 4.3 18 emphasises co-design and co-creation, developing user-friendly tools like a data dashboard and adaptation guide to empower farmers with actionable knowledge. The initiative seeks to foster sustainable soil management, contributing to a healthier agricultural ecosystem and a sustainable food production system. SYMBA aims at creating a new and innovative Industrial Symbiosis (IS) method to be replicated within EU according to the local/regional bio-based industrial ecosystem. It will implement a user-friendly and accessible AI database suggesting regional IS innovative processes to create zero-waste value chains, ensuring more local supply chains; a better distribution of economic and social benefits among the stakeholders and an increase in the economic value of final products. 3.2 Other platforms/networks BBioNets applied early on to join an alliance relevant to the bioeconomy in the rural world, and was approached by another cluster pertinent to its goals. It also strived to join forces and contribute to the objectives set by major projects/platforms promoted by the EC (Table 3). The rationale of this endeavour is that such networking allows for greater influence, leveraging existing resources, expertise, and connections, potentially leading to mutually beneficial outcomes that are greater than what each party could achieve independently. Only accounting for its active participation in the Biorefine Cluster Europe and Rural Bioeconomy Alliance (presented in Table 3 below), BBioNets is in close collaboration with over 50 projects. Table 3: Other Networks. Overview of Other Networks The Biorefine Cluster Europe (BCE) is an open-access, free-of-charge collaborative platform between EU projects dealing with bio-based circular economy. Currently, the BCE counts more than 40 EU running projects (Figure 7), half of which with a focus on nutrient recycling and recovery. The BCE is also the main organiser of high-level conferences, such as the European Sustainable Nutrient Initiative (ESNI) and the Biorefine Conference, which interconnect key actors in the field of nutrient recycling to keep high the topic in the EU Circular Economy Agenda. Figure 7: Slide from the BCE’s ESNI Working Group meeting (12 Nov. 2024). Deliverable 4.3 19 EU-FarmBook is a Horizon Europe project that is working at regional, national, and European levels to build an Online Platform, gathering and sharing agriculture and forestry knowledge. It offers an interactive, multi-lingual meeting place for agriculture and forestry communities, giving access to trustworthy knowledge objects according to findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable (FAIR) data principles. Launched on 31st May 2023, the Rural Bioeconomy Alliance (RBA) is a cluster of 20 European-funded projects2 (Figure 8) , aimed at accelerating and supporting the development of circular rural Bioeconomy initiatives in the EU. With a focus on rural sustainable circular bioeconomy initiatives, the RBA investigates, develops and analyses success stories, best practices, pilots, including ways to increase the adoption of circular bioeconomy concepts, mainly in rural areas. Figure 8: Rural Bioeconomy Alliance projects (24 Apr. 2025). AKISConnect, a joint venture by the modernAKIS and ATTRACTISS EU projects, is an online platform, where actors from all over Europe converge to leverage the power of Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS). It serves as a dynamic platform aimed at fostering collaboration, empowering local communities, and facilitating cross-country cooperation to drive transformative change in agricultural practices and innovation. The goal is to create a vibrant ecosystem where diverse stakeholders actively contribute to advancing agricultural knowledge and innovation across Europe. Plataforma de Asesores AKIS (AKIS Advisors Platform) is a digital platform created by the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food (MAPA) with the aim of facilitating a meeting point and knowledge exchange among the actors of the Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System (AKIS) at the national level. 2 As counted on 24 April 2025 Deliverable 4.3 20 3.3 Individual projects (bilateral collaboration) The projects featured under this group have forged bilateral collaboration, with varying levels of involvement and frequency of participation in shared activities (Table 4). They are not part of the SLRT either because they were not interested at that point in time or their goals were not fully aligned and preferred to establish bilateral collaboration with BBioNets. Table 4: Individual Projects (bilateral collaboration). Overview of Individual Projects BioINSouth aims to support decisionmakers to incorporate considerations of ecological limits into their regional bioeconomy strategies and roadmaps, through digital tools relevant to circular bio-based activities. BioINSouth applies a multiactor approach to provide regional solutions through Multi Actor Regional Groups (MARGs) and the creation of related bioeconomy HUBs, meaningfully incorporating environmental and socioeconomic aspects in biobased industrial systems. It will build up its methodology in eight European regions (Campania – Italy, Peloponnese – Greece, Andalusia and Asturias – Spain, Centro Region – Portugal, NouvelleAquitaine – France, Slovenia and, Cyprus) by establishing an equal number of use cases, thus reinforcing the capacity of biobased value chains in the Mediterranean. The project ‘OPTimising FORest management decisions for a low-carbon, climate resilient future in Europe (OptFor-EU)’ aims to build a Decision Support System (DSS) to provide forest managers and other relevant stakeholders with tailored options for optimising decarbonisation and other Forest Ecosystem Services (FES) across Europe. Based on a supplydemand approach, the methodology combines an iterative process of data consolidation, modelling, and co-development of solutions alongside forest managers and other practice stakeholders in all European Forest Types. The DSS is being designed and tested in 8 case study areas, to provide a ready-to-use service, near to operational at European level, while a user adoption and up-take plan will maximise the societal and business impact. ROBOCOOP-EU proposes a breakthrough cultural change in the agricultural sector, by deploying effective regional and circular bio-based Business Models for the valorisation of waste streams from 3 agricultural sectors: grape, olive and stone fruit. The project specialises in the enhancement of revenue streams for small and medium-scale farmers and cooperatives . Its approach involves the systematic diversification of commercial opportunities within agricultural contexts. By establishing versatile bio-refineries, it facilitates the production of a comprehensive portfolio of bio-based products, enabling the integration of secondary streams in a holistic closedloop system. Small4Good aims to help small forest owners develop multifunctional management and business models using digital and AI solutions. The project promotes biodiversity and carbon farming through payment for ecosystem services schemes. Its approach involves understanding the motivations of small forest owners and developing business and management models through a multi-actor living lab approach across Europe, promoting rapid prototyping and implementing realistic, locally adapted pathways towards multifunctionality. The project’s outcomes will enable small forest owners across Europe to transition towards sustainable and multifunctional management, creating a fair and inclusive bioeconomy. STRATUS aims to connect advisors across Europe to accelerate knowledge creation and sharing on Integrated Fertilisation Management, supporting farmers to bring this knowledge into practice to achieve the ambition of the Farm to Fork and Biodiversity Strategies. Thus, STRATUS will contribute to reducing nutrient losses to the environment while maintaining soil fertility. Deliverable 4.3 21 4 Collaboration Activities – P1 From BBioNets’ outset through its mid-term, the consortium and its partners actively organised and participated in a variety of activities and events with a collaborative focus. They were all instrumental to disseminate and communicate the progress of the project, share insights, and strengthen its links with similar initiatives. By engaging in conferences, workshops, and joint efforts, BBioNets effectively expanded its reach and built constructive alliances within the broader community. Activities and events mentioned under this chapter are indicative and serve to showcase the different types of partnerships BBioNets forged. Note: The exhaustive list of all BBioNets D&C activities has been reported on the SyGMa portal. 4.1 Cross-promotion through Communication Channels All projects mentioned under Section 3, regardless of the group they fall under, responded positively to the BBioNets suggestion for cross-promotion of the established collaboration through their respective websites. Some projects, which had not initially considered it, even decided to add a dedicated webpage for this purpose. To facilitate this process, BBioNets prepared a designated template requesting a short description, logo and the social media channels of the recipient project, providing simultaneously its own information (Figure 9). Figure 9: BBioNets’ dedicated template for website cross-promotion. Deliverable 4.3 22 Following up on this exchange, the D&C teams of most projects3 proceeded with updating their websites, and further promoted their bilateral collaboration by making social media posts on their respective channels. Figure 10: BBioNets website – ‘Synergies’ page. Once the initial cooperation steps were established, the BBioNets D&C team, FOCUS, initiated the “Forging Partnerships” campaign, using the project’s social media channels to showcase the main highlights of partner projects on (read more in “D4.2 - Plan for Dissemination and Exploitation including Communication activities – updated”). They also regularly reposted or promoted their news, events, and other information, based on either the interests of the BBioNets audience or specific requests for promotion. Accordingly, BBioNets and several other projects offered their partners the opportunity to publicise their results and relevant news in their respective newsletters. Table 5: Indicative examples of Newsletter cross-promotion. Indicative examples of Newsletter cross-promotion Welcome to the 1st BBioNets newsletter! – July 2024 Biorefine Bulletin News - September - October 2024 - BCE (Network) 1st Newsletter – November 2024 – Soil-X-Change (SLRT – sister project) OptFor-EU news #4: Smart updates for sustainable forest management (bilateral collaboration) Going a step further, BBioNets strategically decided to devote the entire second edition of its newsletter to the importance of establishing collaborations, featuring news across 16 projects. This initiative was warmly welcomed and publicised accordingly (Figure 11, Figure 12). 3 To BBioNets’ knowledge at the time; any further actions to this respect were not monitored. Deliverable 4.3 23 Figure 11: SYMBA’s promotion of BBioNets’ Newsletter. Figure 12: BRILIAN’ social media post about BBioNets’ Newsletter. Additional examples of cross-promotion can be consulted in Table 6. Table 6: Indicative examples of cross-promotion Collaboration level Description Project Websites Partner projects feature their collaboration with BBioNets on their websites’ dedicated pages: • BIO2REG – SLRT project • BCE – Network • OptFor-EU – Individual projects (bilateral collaboration) Social media BBioNets regularly promotes its partner projects’ upcoming activities and events: • Soil-X-Change – Launch of 1st survey addressed to OG members • SMURF – Cascade Funding Initiative • NUTRI-KNOW – Webinar series on sustainable nutrient management BBioNets runs campaigns to highlight its synergies and promote results from its partner projects: • “Forging Partnerships campaign”: collaboration with SYMBA project • “‘BioPills campaign”: a collaborative effort of 12 projects (see section 4.2.1) Press Releases & Website articles BBioNets promotes its partner projects through press releases and website articles: • First Press Release (June 2024) • ShapingBio Workshop on Stakeholder Engagement and Communication Strategies (December 2024) Deliverable 4.3 24 Additionally to the cross-promotion of projects and their activities and results, there have also been instances of promotion of the SRLT by some of the participating projects (Figure 13, Figure 14, Figure 15). Figure 13: Simultaneous promotion of the SLRT and participating project’s event. Figure 14: Announcement of joining the SLRT. Figure 15: SLRT mention on newsletter. 4.2 Inter-project activities This section highlights several collaborative activities that were organised exclusively for and addressed to representatives of various projects. These initiatives provided platforms for setting strategies, exchanging knowledge and updates, and sharing best practices. Fostering cooperation and Deliverable 4.3 25 dialogue, the activities described below aimed to accelerate progress toward sustainable, circular bioeconomy goals. They are presented under two different headings, based on the organising entity: BBioNets, and Other Platforms/Projects. 4.2.1 Organised by BBioNets SLRT: The “Cooperation inaugural event” During the initial online meetings with representatives of the projects identified as potential collaboration candidates, BBioNets informed participants of its intention to establish the Standing Liaison Round Table to pursue further networking and multilateral cooperation, as pledged in its DoA. After receiving positive feedback and confirmation of attendance, the Liaison team shared the “.docx” files prepared for the initial meetings (Figure 16). They requested any missing information related to the projects’ forthcoming activities and planned materials, as well as any additional suggestions for collaboration. Figure 16: Example of document for sharing information. The next step was organising the SLRT “Cooperation inaugural event” – an online meeting where several projects attended to get acquainted, exchange information and initiate multilateral collaboration. A doodle poll was shared to schedule a convenient date / time slot, along with a Meeting Overview document (Figure 17), and a .pptx template for each project to succinctly present its scope and activities (Figure 18). Additionally, a registration form was introduced to ensure compliance with GDPR requirements before sharing information across projects. Deliverable 4.3 32 Organiser Event Description successes of these transitions were explored. FOCUS represented BBioNets. PRIMED PRIMED Open Call Info Day, 12/09/24 Info Day webinar presenting an overview of the PRIMED project, an introduction to its Living Labs and their focus areas, while providing a step-bystep guide to the application process for their Open Call. BBioNets was represented by CREA. AKISConnect Several events, indicatively: • Digital Repositories - Bridging Research and Practice, 24/09/24 • AKIS in action: Powering up advisors’ knowledge through peer exchange, 24/10/24 • AKIS in action: Strengthening AKIS through women-led innovation, joint event by FLIARA and modernAKIS projects, 19/11/24 Networking event series allowing for peer exchange and practical insights on a number of themes relevant to the BBioNets topic. The L iaison team (FOCUS) and several other partners made sure to regularly attend such events. BRILIAN Workshop ‘ Policy alignment: toward a coherent and supportive framework’, 23/01/25 FOCUS attended this webinar that delved into the critical role of harmonising policies across economic, social, environmental, and technological domains to build a cohesive framework that fosters sustainable growth. ShapingBio Workshop ‘Policy Recommendations Validation’, 02/04/25 CREA attended this webinar to contribute to ShapingBio’s effort to produce recommendations after 3 years of consultations with stakeholders. BBioNets was invited to approve and refine these recommendations before they are communicated to the EC. Table 10: Onsite meetings organised by 3rd parties for a wider audience. Organiser Event Description CEE2ACT (RBA member) Greek Bioeconomy Day, Athens – Greece, 15/04/24 An event focused on the bioeconomy in Greece, attended by CBE JU Head of Programme Virginia Puzzolo. FOCUS represented BBioNets, giving an overview of the project and its goals during bilateral discussions (also with Ms Puzzolo) and distributing project brochures. EU CAP NETWORK Conference 'Operational Groups: Innovation in MTU, AFS, TEPRO attended the Conference. BBioNets requested and was assigned a table, Deliverable 4.3 33 Organiser Event Description practice', Estoril – Portugal, 6-8/05/24 allowing for better promotion, visibility, and networking. European Rural Development Network European Rural Development Network Conference 2024, Vilnius – Lithuania, 1113/09/24 IUNG promoted BBioNets at the Conference centring on green transformation of rural areas and recommendations for effective policies for rural development and agriculture. Innovation Network in Agriculture and Rural Areas (part of the Polish Rural Network) 4th Annual Conference on Polish EIP Operational Groups, Lublin – Poland, 67/11/24 IUNG represented BBioNets at the Conference, establishing contacts and facilitating cooperation between Polish operational groups (OGs), while enabling the exchange of experiences in developing and implementing innovative solutions in agricultural producti on, processing and distribution of agri-food products. EU CAP Network Workshop on ‘National networking for innovation and knowledge exchange’, Reims – France, 20-30/01/25 Mara Lai from CREA represented both BBioNets and the Italian CAP Network at the meeting. BBioNets was invited to present its scope and work towards unlocking the potential of OG results and ensuring a wider uptake of innovative results. ERIAFF, EFI, CEPF, EUSTAFOR, COPACOGECA, ELO, Euromontana, and EU projects FOREST4EU and OptFor-EU Forest Innovation Workshop and OptFor-EU Mid-term conference, Brussels – Belgium, 11-12/02/25 The project was represented by CREA during a slot in Breakout Session 1: Presentation and discussion on innovation initiatives Topic C – “Valorising nonwood forest products for healthy consumption patterns”. At this panel, CREA had the opportunity to present some cases of the BioBased Technology Inventory related to non-timber forest products. EU CAP Network Workshop 'Circular bioeconomy - valorisation of forest byproducts', Kouvola – Finland, 26-27/03/25 CREA represented BBioNets by participating at an interactive poster session to showcase and disseminate the project, and engaging in brief discussions afterwards. A joint event was organised with FOREST4EU, highlighting the achievements of two projects promoting the work of OGs. EU CAP Network Brokerage event ‘Partnering for innovation with impact in agriculture and rural areas’, Prague – Czech Republic, 2930/03/25 CTA represented BBioNets , contributing to the dissemination and engagement of BBioNets in wider networking activities. Deliverable 4.3 34 4.3.2 Organised by BBioNets Table 11: BBioNets Events & Activities where other Projects collaborated. Event/Activity Description BBioNets webinar "Empowering Ireland's Farmers and Foresters: A focus on Biobased solutions through BBioNets ", Bioeconomy Ireland Week 2024, 15/10/24 Organised within the Bioeconomy Ireland Week 2024, MTU and Teagasc's webinar hosted a panel of bioeconomy experts from other projects, namely NXTGENWOOD, MainstreamBio and ShapingBio. Recording available on BBioNets YouTube channel & article on website. 1st Atlantic ETR Meeting, online, 4/12/24 During the 1st meeting of the Irish & Spanish FANs that focused on enhancing circularity in the forest sector, Álvaro Picardo, SMURF project’s coordinator, and Edward Casey, MSCA RISE DeMANS Project, participated as speakers, while Colm Faulkner represented and intervened on behalf of the NXTGENWOOD project. 1st Central Europe ETR meeting, online, 11/12/24 The first meeting of the Czech and Polish FANs on ‘ livestock and agricultural waste management’ hosted speakers from the CiNURGi, Soil-X-Change, MainstreamBio (RBA member), and BRILIAN projects, as well as the Cypriot OLIVER Nicosia Veg Operational Group. 4.4 Other types of collaboration In addition to cross-promotion, a shared online presence, and events, BBioNets has also undertaken or contributed to a variety of collaborative activities that extend beyond these categories. Each one further contributed to the projects’ mutual growth and shared objectives. Table 12: Miscellaneous partnership activities. Description of activity ShapingBio is acting as a member of the Irish FAN, actively participating in its activities. Once initial collaboration with the SMURF project was established, BBioNets invited its coordinator, Álvaro Picardo, to join its Advisory Board. He graciously accepted and has been contributing to project activities. Responding to an invitation circulated via the SLRT network, the BBioNets coordinator applied and was accepted as a bioeconomy expert in SYMBA's Advisory Board. This enables BBioNets to contribute to SYMBA's activities and further its own goals. CREA attended the PRIMED OPEN CALL Info Day webinar with some of its FAN members. This resulted in some of them being interested in participating in the Open Call. They were not ready for the 1st Call, but FOCUS liaised to obtain information for their timely participation in the 2nd Call. Deliverable 4.3 35 After being personally invited, Iakovos Delioglanis from FOCUS became a member of the C4B Stakeholder Panel to represent BBioNets in knowledge and experiences exchange in the bioeconomy domain. The SMURF coordinator requested BBioNets partners’ assistance to promote the second cascade funding of SMURF to relevant stakeholders in their countries via their respective networks. The Liaison team reached out on behalf of BBioNets to the three SLRT projects promoting the work of EIP-AGRI Operational Groups to discuss the challenges faced while collecting financial data from primary producers and ways to overcome them. After BBioNets’ presentation at the SCAR AKIS meeting (Jan. ’25), Plataforma de Asesores AKIS (AKIS Advisors Platform) reached out and expressed its eagerness to become involved and disseminate the project activities in Spain. NUTRI-KNOW reached out to all SLRT projects asking for input to its two surveys: one on the practice-oriented materials created, and a second on their Results Amplification Methodology (RAM), a structured framework for transferring knowledge to farmers, practitioners, and policymakers (April 2025). Deliverable 4.3 36 5 Conclusions The consortium firmly believes that the collaborative efforts undertaken during the first reporting period have proven highly successful, with results significantly exceeding the initial targets set for this phase. The strong commitment and proactive engagement of all partners have been instrumental in achieving these outcomes. By fostering synergies across aligned projects, leveraging complementary expertise, and actively engaging in activities, the consortium has established a solid foundation for impactful collaboration. Looking ahead, the partners are committed to reinforcing these collaborations, building on the successes of this period to drive even more decisive and targeted actions. The solidly established relationships with other partner projects, combined with the more advanced stage of our own results and activities, are expected to create new opportunities for deeper collaboration. Future efforts will focus on scaling up joint activities, expanding stakeholder engagement, and further aligning collaborative strategies with the overarching objectives of the European Commission’s research and innovation programmes. At the time of the submission of this document, the discussions and preparations for the organisation of joint events had already well progressed with other projects. The consortium remains steadfast in its shared goal of advancing innovation, promoting sustainability, and maximising the impact of collaborative efforts for the benefit of end-users and society at large. IMPORTANT NOTICE While not explicitly mentioned throughout this document, EIPAGRI Operational Groups are inherently included in BBioNets’ collaborative efforts and are regarded as key partners in our activities. Their involvement is embedded in the framework of all our actions , reflecting their integral role in achieving the project’s objectives. For example, OG representatives actively participate in our FANs (14 OGs) and Advisory Board (2 OGs), results from 82 OGs have been integrated into the BBioNets inventory and knowledge collection, collaborative actions with 85 OGs have taken place up to now (going beyond the consortium countries), while the outreach and knowledge-sharing initiatives of the project (scheduled to mainly be deployed in the second period) will heavily involve OGs. This implicit inclusion underscores their importance without the need for repetitive reference, as their contributions are considered a foundational aspect of our work. P712TB54bA#y1 www.bbionets.eu Deliverable 4.3 37 Document information Title BBioNets – Creation and promotion of Forest and Agriculture Networks to boost Bio-Based Technologies adoption and Value Chain development (GA No 101133904) Start – end date 1/11/2023 – 31/10/2026 (36 months) Project type Coordination and Support Action Programme Horizon Europe – Cluster 6 Funding 1,998,636.20 € Coordinator Munster Technological University Ms. Carmen Girón Domínguez ([email protected]) Project overview BBioNets constitutes a thematic network that relies on, promotes, and further advances the work carried out by EIPAGRI Operational Groups (OGs) with respect to management and/or processing of agricultural and forest biomass with Bio-Based Technologies (BBTs) . The project has set up 6 regional Forest and Agriculture Networks – FANs (IE, ES, IT, EL, PL, CZ) that identify local needs, prioritise specific BBTs and share BBT knowledge ready for practice to farmers and foresters, boosting the (re)definition of value chains, stimulating crossfertilisation beyond borders, and bringing Europe to the forefront of farming, forestry and bioeconomy with economically viable and sustainable practices. Consortium P741TB60bA#y1 www.bbionets.eu P741TB61bA#y1 [email protected] P741TB65bA#y1 /bbionets-eu P741TB66bA#y1 /bbionets.eu P741TB67bA#y1 @bbionets_eu @bbionets-eu.bsky.social \ P74T7bA#y @bbionets_eu P741TB73bA#y1 @BBioNetsE U