In accordance with objectives of BLUEAIR project aimed at improving institutional capacity for the implementation of activities in the field of the blue economy, on February 7th and 8th, the project partners of BLUEAIR project will gather in Barcelona on a Learning event which will be organized at the Institut de Ciències del Mar (CSIC) by the BLUENETCAT – Xarxa Marítima de Catalunya and UPC – UPC Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya.

Visiting the best-performing regions and macro-region, Learning events aim to facilitate the transfer of know-how and the implementation of successful innovation policy on Sustainable Blue Economy based on policy recommendations as elaborated in the BlueAir White Paper.

Based on this background, two main themes which are defined as the core of the Learning events, presented here together with their specific objectives and main topics are:

  • Coordination of innovation policies at the macroregional level

The theme will be dedicated learning how territorial innovation policies in Sustainable Blue Economy are coordinated on the transregional and macroregional levels.

  • Interregional innovation cooperation

The theme will be dedicated learning how innovation actors from different territories work together in a coordinated way towards achieving mutually beneficial results for the (macro) region.

As the West Mediterranean and Adriatic and Ionian Region are part of a larger Mediterranean area and are traditionally well-connected in the areas of policy, research and business cooperation, the Learning event will be hosted in Barcelona. Barcelona is such important knowledge and innovation hub with an abundance of Sustainable Blue Economy initiatives and networks, including international ones, and at the same time a forerunner in new approaches to innovation policymaking. Additionaly it was one of the pioneer regions in cluster development related to Sustainable Blue Economy, such as food, mobility, advanced manufacturing, water and energy, design, health, digital and cross-cutting industries. The government of Catalonia has developed many networks and programmes for technology transfer, providing advanced services and support from technology development to its deployment.  Catalonia is also one of the leading regions in shifting the innovation policy paradigm in support of social and sustainability transitions by introducing the principles of transformative innovation in its S3.

Bearing in mind the mentioned facts, the main topics which will be discussed on the Learning event in Barcelona are:

  • What are the experiences of Catalonia on the coordination of innovation policies (with a focus on Sustainable Blue Economy) on the interregional level (interregional S3 cooperation, support to value chain development, quadriple helix innovation community building, bottom-up and/or top-down approaches).

 

  • How innovation actors from different territories work together towards achieving mutually beneficial results at the interregional level (necessary conditions for the creation of a well-functioning interregional level innovation ecosystem, key elements of a successful and operational interregional innovation community).

 

  • How cooperation in Sustainable Blue Economy through networking and clustering of innovation actors resulted in forming cluster ecosystem in Catalonia and what are Catalonia’s measures for the facilitation and support of clustering.

 

  • Catalonia’s approach to innovation policymaking and the facilitation of innovation cooperation through the Transformative Innovation Policy Framework.

 

The BLUEAIR project is funded through the ADRION program and 12 partners from EU and IPA countries are involved in its implementation.