On the societal impact of publicly funded Circular Bioeconomy research in Europe

Abstract

Europe has taken a world leadership position in setting policy priorities for Circular Bioeconomy (CBE) as a key determinant of economic, social, and environmental sustainability. Consequently, European R&D investment in this area keeps growing along with the societal pressure to demonstrate the return of investment of publicly funded projects. Thus, this work presents a pioneering exploratory analysis of the extent to which projects funded at the European level incorporate the policy priorities for which they are being designed in the context of CBE, and how can the impact they are having on society be assessed. Thence, project impact evaluation is carried out in the short- and medium-term, and categorized under Industrial Competitiveness, Sustainable Development, and Community and Public Policies. For this purpose, secondary information was gathered from the European projects database Cordis, as well as primary information through a questionnaire survey of project coordinators. The empirical data collected suggest that European Framework Programmes have been fulfilling their purpose, as they are increasingly societal challenges-driven and market-oriented. This is evidenced by market-related topics addressed in the projects analysed and by the active participation of companies that outnumber academic institutions. As far as impact is concerned, scientific publications continue to be the main result of this type of project in the short-term, whereas in the medium-term social and economic benefits were also identified. Notably, the creation of scientific jobs in the industry, of industrial joint ventures, and the generation of documents to support the improvement of public and EU policies on biobased products.