The Working Group focuses on increasing the influence of regions and their stakeholders in shaping the European circular bioeconomy while also focusing on the Horizon Europe Mission Soil. The group covers the bioeconomy in the widest sense, tackling issues related to topics such as food systems, soil health, forestry, bioenergy, biowaste, bio-based products, among other things. Seeing the growing role of the bioeconomy in decarbonisation efforts, the group also concentrates on the ecological sustainability of these solutions (e.g. nature-based solutions, green and blue solutions for carbon capture). The group develops contacts with European policymakers to increase cooperation and projects between European regions in bioeconomy, with a particular focus on Horizon Europe and the Circular Bio-based Europe Partnership.
ERRIN Bioeconomy WG is organising an in-person meeting on 10 June 2024 from 15:00 to 17:00 to take stock of the latest developments on the Soil Mission. This meeting aims to facilitate an in-
The topic of widening gathers high attention in the discussions around the next European Framework Programme for R&I, raising questions with the potential to influence not only the Widening sub-
ERRIN has been closely involved in the design and implementation of the EU Missions since their inception. Missions remain one of the network's priorities and were one of the four main areas of focus
Emphasising the importance of peer-to-peer learning in agri-food innovation uptake and building on the experience of the H2020 NEFERTITI.
The 19th edition of the European Week of Regions and Cities will take place as a mostly digital event this October under the theme 'Together for Recovery.'
South-Eastern Finland University of Applied Sciences (Xamk) together with Kouvola Innovation organise a webinar for boosting regional bio and circular economy. Register until 28 September.
The SUMEX project is preparing for its second virtual clustering workshop: Sustainability outside the box: lessons from natural resource projects, architecture and E-learning.
The Network of European Regions Using Space Technologies (NEREUS) together with the European Commission and the European Space Agency organise a webinar as part of the Copernicus4Regions initiative.
The Green City Accord sees local authorities commit to ambitious environmental goals by 2030. To celebrate the involvement of the growing number of cities joining the Green City Accord community, a high-level signatory ceremony will take place online in September.
The ERRIN Bioeconomy Working Group, in collaboration with the Bio-based Industries Consortium (BIC), is currently drafting a document that underscores the pivotal role of regions and the synergies with the private sector in driving forward the circular bioeconomy. This document aims to provide actionable recommendations to policymakers and stakeholders at both regional and EU levels.
The ERRIN Year in review 2022 is out! Read the report to see the numerous activities ERRIN and its members have been involved in throughout the year.
Developing Urban Living Labs is a relatively novel approach in urban areas, and consequently, there are many challenges and barriers that cities face during ULL adoption. This handbook, developed by the UNaLab project, aims to identify and explore some common barriers to the adoption of Urban Living Labs, and provide cities with a tool and an understanding of how to strategically address these barriers.
ERRIN's input paper on a potential EU Algae Strategy, highlighting the challenges and opportunities of such a strategy at a regional and local level.
A drafting group has prepared a first version of the ERRIN input to the future EU Algae Strategy.
The HuMUS project has selected the 20 local and regional soil health pilots, including 10 located in ERRIN member regions, that will be supported to enhance participatory methods and tools for soil quality and health governance. The results of the calls were announced for the first time during ERRIN’s Bioeconomy WG meeting on the 'Mission Soil: lessons learned and upcoming opportunities'. Learn more about the outcomes of the call.
The European Investment Bank is launching a new support phase of their Circular City Centre (C3) scheme. The C3 targets cities and the public sector promotors on their behalf and offers advice on their circular economy agenda and investment projects. Cities can benefit from guidance documents, resources, circular city advisory and capacity building workshops and project advisory services.
The Circular Cities and Regions Initiative has launched its Knowledge Hub to consolidate and expand the support activities made available for boosting circularity in European cities and regions. The CCRI Knowledge Hub will foster knowledge-sharing, mentoring, and capacity-building within the CCRI community and beyond.
Applications are now open to join IN SITU Summer School, “Place-based creative solutions for cultivating caring and sustainable communities" (20-24 September 2024), and the IN SITU Conference "Horizons of Sustainability: The power of creative innovation for transformation of rural and non-urban futures" (25-27 September 2024), both held in the beautiful island of Zlarin, Croatia.
As the work towards the next EU Framework Programme for R&I (FP10) continues, ERRIN is pleased to share its two-page input for the attention of the Expert Group on the interim evaluation of Horizon Europe. The document is a concise compilation of the reflections on FP10 done at ERRIN so far, highlighting topics of key importance. Work on a series of broader input papers is underway.
To better support the implementation of circular systemic solutions at the local and regional levels, the Circular Cities and Regions Initiative just launched a call for external experts who can offer personalised support to cities and regions. Experts should have at least five years of experience in the fields of stakeholder and citizen engagement, innovation and technology, business models and financial support, public procurement, or impact evaluation and can express their interest until 14 June 2024.
The coordinator of the Erasmus + proposal is looking for EU regions with a need to develop new skills related to NbS to meet emerging professional needs for green skills and a sustainable economy.
In June 2021, ERRIN's Blue Growth Working Group and the European Commission’s Mission Secretariat co-organised a dialogue on the participation of regional and local actors in the Mission Area: Healthy Oceans, Seas, Coastal and Inland Waters. ERRIN has produced a report on the dialogue including examples presented by ERRIN members and key messages on the role of regions in the Mission.
On 18 June ERRIN’s Blue Growth Working Group organised together with the Mission Starfish Secretariat a dialogue on the role of regions in area-based lighthouses anticipated in the Mission. It was an opportunity for ERRIN members to come together with those working on the Mission and its implementation plan to discuss potential lighthouse activities, their scale and governance.
The first calls for proposals in the EU's new key funding programme for research and Innovation, Horizon Europe, are now open.
The European Commission has adopted the main work programme of Horizon Europe for the period 2021-2022. The programme outlines the objectives and topic areas that will receive a share of €14.7 billion in funding.
In the frame of the 2021 UN climate change conference COP26, the European Union is collecting expressions of interest to organise side events in the EU Pavilion programme at COP26. Applications are open until 30 June.