Platform
Meta-network for public-to-public partnerships in the bioeconomy
The platform of bioeconomy ERA-NETs was initiated to bring together European Research Area Networks (ERA-NETs) and other relevant public-to-public (P2P) networks in the area of the bioeconomy: food, agriculture, aquaculture, fisheries, forestry, climate, biodiversity and biotechnologies. Through its activities PLATFORM established a forum for funders and programme managers and plays since 2012 a central role in facilitating and improving the coherence between the P2P networks active in the bioeconomy.
The PLATFORM project received funding from the European Commission under the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) and Horizon2020 (H2020). PLATFORM meta-networked the funders, programme managers and other key actors of ERA-NETs, Joint Programming Initiatives (JPIs) and other P2P networks. The project under H2020 (2015-2018) continued and expanded the work of FP7 PLATFORM (2012-2014) by further improving exchange and cooperation and strengthening the impact of these P2P networks on the European Research Area and the European bioeconomy.
PLATFORM ran from January 2012 until February 2015 (36 months). The Coordination Action (CA) was funded by the European Commission under the 7th Framework Programme under Grant Agreement 288422. The consortium consisted of 13 partners from 8 European member states and associated countries (WUR (NL), MinEZ (NL), FNR (DE), INRA (FR), FRB (FR), DEFRA (UK), BBSRC (UK), Juelich (DE), BMWFJ (AT), DASTI (DK), AU-ICROFS (DK), NICe (NO) and TEKES (FI)) . The initiative continued further under Horizon 2020 for the period 2015-2018 under Grant Agreement 652635 and with a consortium of 9 partners from 6 European member states and associated countries (WUR (NL), MinEZ (NL), Juelich (DE), FNR (DE), BMLFUW (AT), MIZS (SI), AU-ICROFS (DK), IFD (DK), Mipaaf (IT)).
Impact
Contribution to European Research Area in the Bioeconomy: PLATFORM increased interaction and coherence by consolidating a robust network of Member States research and innovation coordination activities.
- Effective implementation of ERA-NETs: PLATFORM organised training and knowledge transfer enhancing the professionalism and operational efficiency of the P2P networks whose actors collectively now hold more oversight and expertise of the ERA-NET instrument.
- Harmonisation of actions: PLATFORM supported the P2P networks to implement activities in a better coordinated manner, vis-a-vis and in interactions with other related programmes (SCAR, EIP-AGRI, BBI-JU) within the bioeconomy. Below you find an overview of the products and achievements.
For a full overview of pulic-to-public partnerships in the bioeconomy please visit the PLATFORM DB. You are invited to browse through the data, explore the functionalities to retrieve graphical overviews, and read about calls and projects.
Activities and products
PLATFORM Mutual Learning Activities: Workshops and Master Classes to enhance efficient and effective network management, organisation of calls and joint activities and collaboration between Member States
- Master Class on call management, 17-18 June 2013, Brussels;
- Workshop 'Think Back, Act Forward’, Friday 27 March 2015, Schiphol, The Netherlands;
- Master Class on ERA-NET (Cofund) planning and call management, 25-26 June 2015, Brussels;
- PLATFORM@BEU2016 - The 4th Bioeconomy Stakeholders Conference BEU2016, held on 12-13 April 2016 in Utrecht, The Netherlands. PLATFORM took part as one of the moderators in the World Café style session 'Working towards Manifesto';
- Master Class on Inclusiveness, 10-11 May 2016, Vienna, Austria;
- Master Class on Cofund Actions - tools and methods for efficient call management, 7-8 June 2017, Copenhagen, Denmark;
- Workshop on Monitoring, Evaluation and Impact Assessment 8-9 June 2017, Copenhagen, Denmark.
PLATFORM Annual Events: Meetings for networking, sharing information and experience, and enhancing coordination and collaboration
- Annual Event 2012, 26-27 June 2012, Copenhagen, Denmark;
- Annual Event 2013 "Bioeconomy ERA-NETs for Action and Interaction" , 17-18 April 2013, Paris, France;
- Annual Event 2014 "ERA-NETs for the Future",13-14 February 2014, Leiden, The Netherlands;
- FP7 PLATFORM Final Event, "PLATFORM Outcomes and Outlook", 9 October 2014, Turin, Italy;
- Annual Event 2015 "ERA-NETs for Impact and Global Cooperation", 10-11 September, 2015, Berlin, Germany;
- Annual Event 2016 "The Bigger Picture: P2Ps for Inclusiveness and Innovation", 6-7 October 2016, Ljubljana, Slovenia;
- Annual Event 2017 "P2P Networks for Impact, Co-creation and Internationalisation", 5-6 October 2017, Rome, Italy.
PLATFORM DB: Bioeconomy P2P networks information source
PLATFORM developed a database to give overview of the P2P networks and their calls and funded research projects to serve P2P network actors as well as policy makers, national programme managers and the science community.
PLATFORM recommendations: inspiration and impact
PLATFORM's most recent publication is a set of factsheets based on conclusions and recommendations of Work Package 3 'Mutual Learning' and Work Package 4 'Common Vision and Strategy'. The set consists of seven sheets in a binder. On the inside of the binder there is a short text about the European Bioeconomy ERA-NETs and a figure which places the ERA-NETs in the diverse bioeconomy topics. On the back there are the PLATFORM project details (duration, funding), the consortium participants, coordinator, contact, website and acknowledgement of EC funding and FP7, EC and ERA logo. Each of the sheets summarizes the outcomes and recommendations of a task.
PLATFORM Policy Briefs: Actor-driven recommendations to improve impact
During its current course, PLATFORM published four policy briefs to communicate results of analysis and discussions to decision makers at national and European level. The policy briefs are produced in frame of the Work package 2 Policy: “Bottom-up recommendations to improve impact”. The intention of policy briefs is to support and inform national programme owners and managers in their endeavours towards better coordination, the need for P2P cooperation and also towards opening up to currently underrepresented Member States that would be interested to join. The actors within the existing ERA-NETs and JPIs have, collectively, a good oversight and expertise and are well-positioned to explore opportunities for collaboration, as well as to give recommendations on new networks needed.
PLATFORM Policy Briefs:
- PLATFORM PolicyBrief No.1 Think Back Act Forward 2016
- PLATFORM PolicyBrief No.2 Co-creation of a Global Bioeconomy 2016
- PLATFORM PolicyBrief No.3 The Role of the ERA-NET Instrument in Fostering Inclusiveness 2017
- PLATFORM PolicyBrief No.4 Alignment in the Bioeconomy 2018
PLATFORM Perspective Document:
PLATFORM outreach and dissemination
The members of the PLATFORM consortium actively participated in meetings of the P2P networks and other relevant networks. Presentations were given at conferences and workshops. PLATFORM maintained a website with a comprehensive news section and published a monthly newsletter. This website does not exist anymore and the relevant information is integrated on these pages. Furthermore PLATFORM published: a brochure (2018), policy briefs (2015-2018), a leaflet (2015), a poster (2015), recommendations (2014), a book on bioeconomy ERA-NET actions and a statistical overview of the bioeconomy P2Ps (2014) and a flyer (2013).