The overall objective of BIOEASTsUP project is to support the BIOEAST initiative and Action Plan for transition of 11 Central and Eastern European (CEE) to bioeconomy. The specific objectives are: SO1: To trigger strategic thinking at governmental level and transnational peer-to-peer development of national circular bioeconomy strategies in BIOEAST countries. SО2: To emphasize the role of multi-actor approach in developing new value chains to advance bioeconomies. SO3: To develop in a multi-stakeholder driven approach a consolidated BIOEAST Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA). SO4: To set-up and maintain a macro-regional framework in support of the BIOEAST initiative and the SRIA development and sustainability. SO5: To facilitate evidence-based policy making. SO6: To increase the visibility of the bioeconomy within the quintuple helix in the BIOEAST region. BIOEASTsUP methodology was developed to support a parallel setup: the project structure and the structure of the BIOEAST Initiative. Two work packages focus on the national bioeconomy deployment (WP1, WP2), two are dedicated to the impact at the macro-regional and the EU level (WP3, WP4) whereas dissemination activity complements all the components (WP5). The work plan is as follows: WP 1: Framework for National Bioeconomy Strategies Development WP 2: Capacity building for BIOEAST stakeholders WP 3: Establishing macro-regional structures in support of the BIOEAST initiative WP 4: BIOEAST SRIA development and positioning the macro-regional economies WP 5: Communication, Dissemination and Exploitation WP 6: Project Management and Evaluation BIOEASTsUP has been initiated directly by the BIOEAST Initiative’s ministries. In total 26 ministries support the project. In addition associations, industrial chambers, innovation centres, other research organisations and NGOs have committed to the project. BIOEASTsUP will further engage all stakeholders in the bioeconomy value chain to coordinate efforts to maximize the impact.

It is not possible to avoid all the challenges to plant health posed by global trade, increasing travel activities and climate change. However, it is possible to optimise strategies to address these challenges with effective cooperation and coordination. The success of the Euphresco self-sustained network as a platform for the coordination of European phytosanitary research has set the ground for discussions on the development of initiative(s) to address the needs of other regions of the world and on global phytosanitary research coordination. The aim of the project is to enhance national and regional phytosanitary research coordination beyond what the Euphresco self-sustained network has achieved and to set the foundations for global phytosanitary research coordination. This will be achieved by building on the foundations developed by the Euphresco self-sustained network and explore fit-for-purpose activities. The objectives of the project are: -To develop a strategic research agenda. The document will guide phytosanitary research programming activities of EU countries and support them to address regional and global challenges through synergies with other regions/continents of the world. -To organize joint calls on common research priorities to support and enhance international collaboration through the commissioning and implementation of research projects. Monitoring of the research projects will ensure that they remain relevant to the needs of the research funders and policy makers and impactful. -To develop and test models for the governance, the structure and the operation of a global network for phytosanitary research coordination. A business plan will be established to guide the development of a global network for phytosanitary research coordination. -To engage with relevant plant health research stakeholders and foster knowledge exchange, engagement in the project activities, co-development, dissemination and adoption of outputs.

The BOOST4BIOEAST project aims to set in motion the levers for bioeconomy deployment in the Central Eastern European and Baltic countries. The consortium will focus on building upon BIOEASTsUP outcomes and the Vision Paper of the BIOEAST Initiative by boosting the participation of national stakeholder networks in the development of national bioeconomy action plans and to build long-lasting structures for national and macro-regional cooperation. The BIOEAST HUBs will be the national platforms directly linked to public administrations under which capacities are built and the different stakeholders of the bioeconomy are mobilised to more effectively contribute to and take part in decision-making processes using participatory approaches. BIOEAST-wide mapping of bioeconomy competencies and biomass will be undertaken to advance the knowledge on bioeconomy in the macro-region as well as BIOEAST Knowledge Platform will be created to act as repository of knowledge materials and relevant information on bioeconomy that will allow BIOEAST´s stakeholders to access, share and store bioeconomy-related materials towards developing national BIOEAST HUBs into active contributors to bioeconomy in each member state. In order to boost bioeconomy innovation and education in the BIOEAST countries, the project will bring together public and private funders with relevant business stakeholders and expand the BIOEAST UNI NET network. Activities such as training, reskilling, awareness spreading and communication channels creation will set the basis of the bioeconomic transition, creating spaces of dialogue and involvement among all agents of the industry (academia, private and public), which will boost the stakeholders engagement for the integration of programmes and policies in turn of bioeconomy. The hereby proposed consortium is composed of stakeholders of all BIOEAST member states along with partners distributed throughout Western Europe (BE, FI, GER, IE, IT& ES).