BIO-INSPIRE – Strengthening bioeconomy clusters in Europe

BIO-INSPIRE aims to strengthen regional bioeconomy clusters in Eastern and Southeastern Europe by promoting innovation, collaboration, and long-term growth. The project helps clusters overcome obstacles such as weak networks, limited innovation infrastructure and a lack of skilled labor, by providing practical tools and guidance to build resilient local economies and sustainable development. 

Regional bioeconomy clusters – engines of EU bioeconomic growth 

Regional bioeconomy clusters bring together companies, research institutions, and other actors to drive innovation, attract investments, and scale up bio-based solutions. In less developed regions of Europe, many clusters face structural challenges that prevent them from reaching their full potential. BIO-INSPIRE addresses these challenges by supporting seven bioeconomy clusters in Greece, Hungary, Slovakia, Lithuania, Romania, Bulgaria, and Poland. 

The main goal of the project is to develop a practical model in the form of a governance roadmap to support clusters in their work to sustainably and long-term strengthen their innovation efforts and thereby European bioeconomy development. Through this governance roadmap, BIO-INSPIRE aims to: 

• Improve innovation capacity 
• Strengthen cross-border collaboration 
• Open up new growth opportunities 
• Provide regions with tools for long-term engagement in the bio-based economy 

RISE's role and mission 

In this project, RISE will contribute to strengthening the development of cluster ecosystems by developing a focused and step-by-step governance model. Initially, the current state of the bio-based landscape in the selected regions will be mapped and analysed through an innovation system analysis, interviews, and various studies. Subsequently, RISE, through the Processum Biorefinery Cluster, will organise one of the project's two major study visits to northern Sweden to showcase how we work with innovation support through financial support, process development assistance, and facilitation of establishment through industrial symbiosis. 

RISE will also assist in developing a knowledge transfer strategy tailored to the unique needs and challenges identified in the clusters in the seven regions. From the project's analyses and its lessons learned, RISE will finally develop policy briefs and a roadmap to guide policymakers – as support to continue promoting interregional collaboration between bioeconomy clusters to strengthen Europe's bioeconomic innovation capacity.