Two position papers have been recently elaborated in the context of the two pilot actions supported by Danube-INCO.NET project (a Coordination and Support action to address the EU Strategy for the Danube Region in the field of Research and Innovation):
"DANUBIONET position paper for the development of Bioeconomy in the Danube region"
and
"Bioeconomy for the Danube region"
DANUBE-INCO.NET is a coordination and support action funden under the 7th Framework Programme and addresses the official EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR) in the field of research and innovation (R&I). By joining forces from 19 project partners under the coordination of the Centre for Social Innovation (ZSI), Danube-INCO.NET seeks to overcome obstacles hindering the social and economic development of the Danube region.
Both Pilot Activities focused on the topic of bioeconomy, more specifically on the development of a Danube macro-regional approach to support the transition to bioeconomy. Indeed, notwithstanding the relevant availability of biomass, all Danube countries, with the exception of Germany and Austria, have not yet developed a comprehensive, inter-disciplinary bioeconomy strategy. Thus, Danube-INCO.NET Pilot Activities could be seen as a first attempt to initiate a debate on bioeconomy at macro-regional level, which could be supported by EUSDR through, for instance, the establishment of a cross-sectoral Working Group open to representatives of various Priority Areas. Pilot Activities were finalized by the end of 2016: altogether, they organized three Strategy Workshops and 2 Open Innovation Events, and carried out one online consultation and one survey, the latter gathering almost 100 answers from stakeholders in the Danube Region.