This Health WG meeting will provide an overview of the Communication from the European Commission on ‘A Comprehensive Approach to Mental Health’ and how this can translate to regions. The meeting will take place in person, from 16:00-18:00 on 19 September 2023 at the ERRIN offices, Rue du Luxembourg 3 (8th floor), 1000 Brussels.

We will first hear from Francesca Centola, Policy and Knowledge Officer, Mental Health Europe on the Communication from the European Commission on ‘A Comprehensive Approach to Mental Health’, followed by a short Q&A session. This will be followed by three regional examples of how mental health has been integrated into regional policies and works on the ground. We will conclude with a networking drink.

To register for this event, please use the button on the right-hand side. To register, you must be logged in to your ERRIN account.

For this upcoming meeting, the Health Working Group is looking for two regional examples of best practices on mental health. Please send your contributions to gaia.marotta@errin.eu and lucy.hammond@errin.eu by 4 September 17:00 CEST. The email should include a short description of the proposed example – a brief overview of the activity/project and its goals and the actors involved in it. For this meeting, we will prioritise examples that can be presented in person. 

The European Commission's Directorate-General for Research and Innovation announces the Food 2030 Conference, which will take place on 4 and 5 December 2024. The conference will focus on the transition towards sustainable, resilient and inclusive food systems for the benefit of the environment and economy.

The Food 2030 conference will take place in Brussels and will be web streamed on 4 and 5 December 2023. 

Registrations for in-person and online participation will open in mid-September. 

More information can be found on the official event page. 

The European Commission's Open Source Observatory (OSOR) has opened the applications for the EU Public Services Open Source Achievement Awards.

OSOR provides expertise and information as well as serves as a middle-ground to connect European Public Administrations with other relevant stakeholders. To reach this objective, OSOR promotes the use of Free and Open Source software and supports the community through assistance and support, publication of experiences and best practices as well as engagement activities such as participation in events, social media, and production and publication of content.

These awards will honour exceptional open source solutions and initiatives developed for European public administrations. Two categories were created:

• EU Public Sector Open Source Achievement Award: Selected by the Jury based on dedicated criteria.
• OSOR Community Award: Voted for on the Joinup platform by OSOR users and platform members. 

The awards are open to organisations and teams successfully implementing Open Source solutions within public administrations or advancing their use in public services. Businesses applying must have partnered with a public entity. The solution or initiative must be developed or implemented by a public organisation from an EU Member State or associated countries.

The representatives of the top six entries and the winner of the OSOR Community Award will be invited to present their solutions in Brussels for the event celebrating 15 years of OSOR on 21 November 2023.

The online submission form will be open until 21 September 2023, through this link. 

You can find more information on this Observatory and this initiative here.
 

Catalan university is looking for partners/consortium for HORIZON-CL2-2024-DEMOCRACY-01-05 "Gender roles in extremist movements and their impact on democracy".

This research project represents a pioneering exploration of how gender narratives and symbols are strategically used in extremist movements. This research bridges gaps in communication theories and gender studies by analysing how extremist groups manipulate gender roles to craft persuasive messages, mobilise support, and shape public opinion. By employing methods such as content and discourse analysis, the project decodes the symbolic language of gender in extremist propaganda and rhetoric. The interdisciplinary nature of this study offers valuable insights into communication strategies that make extremist ideologies appealing and accessible to different audiences. Furthermore, it illuminates how these strategies impact democratic discourse, potentially eroding pluralistic dialogue and sharing values.

Overall, this project not only contributes to the understanding of the complex relationship between communication, gender roles, and extremist movements but also provides practical insights for those working to counteract extremist messaging and preserve democratic communication channels. 

To express interest, please contact Karim Hassan Hosny at: khassan@catalonia.com by 15 October. 

The discussions around the future cohesion policy framework post-2027 are gaining momentum, while the role of regional and local innovation ecosystems is increasingly recognised in the context of R&I policy implementation and strengthening territorial cohesion, as seen for example in the Spanish Presidency priorities in the R&I area, and initiatives like the Regional Innovation Valleys and Partnerships for Regional Innovation. In this frame, ERRIN kicked off the conversation on the need to explore closer links between cohesion and research & innovation policies.

The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) is currently in the process of drafting an opinion on "The future of cohesion policy post-2027". The opinion is scheduled for adoption in the COTER Commission on 26 September and in the Plenary on 29 November 2023, following a stakeholder consultation held this summer. ERRIN contributed to the consultation by sharing key messages during a dedicated CoR event in July and by submitting written input.

Guided by ERRIN members’ experiences and concerns, this ERRIN contribution offers the first general reflections with regard to the cohesion policy framework post-2027. It touches upon issues such as closer linking cohesion and R&I policies for increased impact and tackling the innovation divide; initiatives like Regional Innovation Valleys and Partnerships for Regional Innovation; S3 and addressing the societal transformation needs; openness to dialogue with other policies; collaboration; funding synergies; current thematic R&I focus in cohesion policy; place-based dimension.

You may read the full contribution in the attached document.

ERRIN looks forward to continuing to follow and contribute to the process of shaping the new cohesion policy framework post-2027 development with network members as it goes ahead. This is also in the context of the ongoing work of the European Commission’s high-level group on the future of cohesion policy, whose strategic conclusions and recommendations are expected in early 2024.

As a next step, in the last week of September, ERRIN’s Smart Specialisation Working Group will organise a meeting on R&I in cohesion policy post-2027. The exact date and details will be published on the ERRIN website by the beginning of next month, with registration open to all network members.

The European Commission is organising an online matchmaking event for territories interested in becoming Regional Innovation Valleys (RIVs). The event will take place on 12 September 2023 from 9:30-13:00 CEST.

The event aims at creating opportunities for participants to meet and connect with a view of either responding to the call for expression interest to become a Regional Innovation Valley by 18 September 2023 or finding partners for prospective applications to calls for proposals launched under the EIE part of Horizon Europe and I3 instrument of ERDF with a closing date on 17 October 2023. It will facilitate networking around the five key challenges identified by the New European Innovation Agenda, namely, reducing reliance on fossil fuels, increasing global food security, mastering the digital transformation (including cybersecurity), improving healthcare and achieving circularity. It represents an occasion to get information about what others are doing in the specific fields, seek partners to complete the set-up of consortiums, manifest interest in joining or forming consortia, and to find potential partners with whom to set-up a joint action plan to interconnect territories around the specific areas of common interest.

The event will include:

• A panel session, featuring speakers from the Commission and a few regions aiming to engage actively in the consortiums, with participation of ERRIN, and
• 5 breakout thematic sessions, one per grand challenge, hosted by the representatives of thematic Units from DG RTD in charge of the grand challenges.

Who can take part?

• National and/or regional authorities and associated partners, entrusted with a public service mission and provided with adequate financial guarantees from the Member State, such as regional innovation agencies or managing authorities, as defined in FAQ on regional/national authorities: Funding & tenders (europa.eu).
• The participating regional authorities/governments should come with a holistic approach, represent the region’s innovation ecosystem as a whole and are invited to join with the intention to seek long term collaborations with other regions.
• Other participants (universities, RTOs, etc..) who are planning to participate in the consortia will be able to join subject to the event’s capacity.

Find more information about the event and the agenda here.

Find the draft concept note and register by 6 September here.

In line with the new European Innovation Agenda’s flagship on accelerating and strengthening innovation in European Innovation Ecosystems across the EU and addressing the innovation divide, the European Commission intends to identify up to 100 regions that are committed to enhancing the coordination and directionality of their R&I investment and policies, at the regional level.

On 28 March 2023, Commissioners Gabriel and Ferreira together with the European Committee of the Regions launched a call for expression of interest inviting European regions to become RIVs. With an overall commitment of € 170 million for RIVs, on 17 May 2023 the Commission also launched the first calls for proposals worth € 60 million from Horizon Europe and € 62 million from the Interregional Innovation Investments (I3) instrument under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) for the creation of connected RIVs, involving regions with lower innovation performances, by building on strategic areas of regional strength and specialisation (defined in their smart specialisation strategies), in support of key EU priorities.

ERRIN has been actively following the developments around the RIVs, engaging in discussions and supporting its members in applying to the calls. You may learn more here.

The RECIPROCITY project, in which ERRIN is a partner, has published a helpful “Catalogue of Mobility Practices”. This guide is for regions and cities, as well as mobility providers, interested in replicating sustainable and innovative mobility solutions. It’s a collection of lessons from the past and present mobility solutions, and guidance for the future, aimed at making cities in Europe stronger, more connected and greener.

The catalogue, created by RECIPROCITY with ERRIN’s involvement, collects both successful and less successful practices as well as past, ongoing and planned solutions. It includes a range of strategies and tools for sustainable urban development and mobility, such as innovative transport modes, smart mobility solutions and sustainable infrastructures. It also provides guidance on how to implement best practices and adapt them to local contexts, ensuring they are feasible and cost-effective.

The catalogue showcases existing mobility solutions and lessons learned from autonomous vehicles, drones, digital mobility services, electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles, data collection and traffic management systems. It highlights how these solutions can be adapted to different cities.

Access the “Catalogue of Mobility Practices” here.

About the institute

• The Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IBB PAS) in Warsaw is one of the leading scientific institutes in Poland.
• It conducts basic research in the life sciences: biology, biophysics, biochemistry and genetics.
• For the Institute, it is important to put the results of basic research into practice and use them in the creation of modern technologies in cooperation with industrial partners.

Institute Laboratory of White Biotechnology (IBB PAS) field of expertise:

• Research on the anaerobic digestion of wastes and by-products of the sugar beet industry as a source of gaseous biofuels.
• The works include basic, development and implementation works into the technology of bio-hydrogen and bio-methane production as a result of anaerobic digestion and the use of the bio-gases for energy.

Experience 

1. Basic research

• Biochemical and molecular analysis of anaerobic digestion microbial communities.
• Microorganisms are the key players in biological hydrogen and methane production.

What they can bring to join consortium – expertise on:

- the interactions in microbial communities determining bioreactors performance: competition, cross-feeding and synergy.

- non-biological factors relevant for bio-hydrogen production via dark fermentation.

2. R&D

• Development and the know-how of innovative technology for the production of bio-hydrogen and bio-methane by two-stage anaerobic digestion of the sugar beet industry by-products.

What we can bring to join consortium – expertise on:

scaling-up of the bioprocesses in cooperation with an industrial partner.

Projects: PBS 1/B9/9/2012 and BIOSTRATEG2/297310/13/NCBiR/2016 supported by The National Centre for Research & Development

3. Implementation networks

Activities with an industrial partner aimed at:

• reducing the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and increasing the contribution of renewable energy in the total energy pool.
• developmentof zero-carbon and circular economy.

Project BIOSTRATEG2/297310/13/NCBiR/2016 supported by The National Centre for Research & Development 

Contact:

Prof. Anna Sikora: annaw@ibb.waw.pl ORCID: 0000-0002-9464-6851

Dr. Anna Detman, Eng.: annadetman@ibb.waw.pl ORCID: 0000-0001-9579-7523

Are you actively involved in research and development activities connected to Digital Transformations (DT)? 
Share your knowledge and experiences about different aspects of Digital Transformation during 2nd International Symposium on Digital Transformation (ISDT) to be held on 21–23 August 2023 in Växjö, Sweden (online participation available), and organised by Linnaeus University. Researchers and practitioners working on technical, organisational and social aspects of digital transformations are invited to submit their contributions.

One of the main goals is to collaboratively take a versatile approach to identify and address societal challenges in various domains where digitalisation is playing a crucial role, together with the academic, industrial, & public sector. More detailed information about ISDT 2023 can be found here. 

For more information please contact:
EU Policy Officer, Martin Broberg 
SBHSS
Martin.broberg@sbhss.eu