How to Digitally Enhance Bioeconomy Collaboration: Multidisciplinary Research Team Ideation for Technology Innovation

Abstract

As the Earth’s temperatures rise, biodiversity is plummeting, soil nutrients are being lost, and the world population keeps growing. The need for fundamental changes in the agri-food sector now seems undeniable. Technological advancement has often been touted as a solution on the road to sustainability, and in recent decades the conversation has been enriched by frameworks such as the socio-technical transitions approach (Geels, 2011, 2019). According to this approach, sustainability transitions rely on taking a systemic outlook to change: technological advancement is key, but so also is restructuring social meanings, consumer behavior, policies, business models, and so on (Geels, 2019). This requires the involvement of multiple actors in different fields of life – scientists in various disciplines, policymakers, educators, and industry alike.