This call (BBI-2019-SO4-S3) aimed at designing the right tools and system for citizens to participate in the bioeconomy, belongs to the Bio-based Industries Coordination and Support action (BBI-CSA) sub-programme of the Horizon 2020 Programme.
Since citizens are the end-consumers of bio-based products and services, they should have the opportunity to provide direct input into the design and implementation of the bio-based economy. This engagement should in particular play a role in the current period of change which may eventually result in people moving out of their comfort zone. Moving away from traditional and familiar products and services to different or new products and services that are bio-based or contain bio-based components may not be easy. The bio-based industry faces the challenge to fit the results of its value chains to the needs of civil society. The most efficient way to achieve this is to involve the public and provide them with opportunities to give input into the bio-based agenda. This opportunity expands the ‘triple helix’ of university, industry and government organisations to also include civil society organisations, and is a significant part of ‘open science’.
Digitalisation offers these opportunities. Developments in information and communications technology (ICT) make it possible to share information and data that can be of significant value when designing the bio-based agenda and implementing it in society. Many citizens are already using their mobile phones to record and transmit events in their daily lives and surroundings , connecting actors in these networks. Increasingly, people are willing and motivated to participate in programmes that can improve their lives, those of others and the quality of the world they live in. Similarly, citizens may want to participate in providing input and monitoring implementation of the bio-based economy.
Scope
Identify possible systems to enable citizens to provide input into the agendas of the bio-based industry. The information could range from suggestions on designing and making bio-based products and applications for specific services to reporting the actual market performance of these products. The information could also be about situations that citizens believe are bad for humans or the environment and could be improved by bio-based products or applications. This will enable citizens to help shape the bio-based economy from the ‘bottom-up’.
Proposals should seek to identify or design user-friendly and useable systems in a wide array of daily life activities, in surroundings ranging from the home, leisure and work, to travel, vacation, etc.
Expected Impact
- foster the direct involvement of the public in the development of bio-based products and aspects of the bio-based agenda in general;
- increase consumer knowledge and awareness of the potential benefits of bio-based solutions and of current bottlenecks still hampering.
Deadline
04th of September, 2019
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