How can European, national, and regional funding instruments be better connected?
This question was at the heart of the workshop “Synergies with National and Regional Funding Instruments,” organized by the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU) in Brussels. The event aimed to explore ways in which funding programs can interact more effectively in the future – enhancing impact, efficiency, and collaboration across the European bioeconomy.
Focus on Collaboration and Efficiency
The Director General of CBE JU, Nicolo Giacomuzzi-Moore, opened the workshop. He emphasized the growing importance of the bioeconomy in the upcoming funding period and highlighted that the variety and complexity of European, national, and regional programs require stronger coordination. Given limited public budgets, inefficiencies and parallel structures need to be reduced in order to use available resources as efficiently as possible.
Following the presentation of the new CBE JU Synergies Strategy, participants discussed key questions regarding cooperation, funding, and strategic alignment.
Topics and Insights from the Working Groups
Funding of Intermediary Structures:
- A recurring topic was the long-term financing of intermediaries such as clusters or innovation platforms. Funding is usually provided through programs like INTERREG or CBE JU CSA, which, however, are no guarantee for the permanent establishment of intermediary structures. Bioeconomy Austria stands out as a thematic innovation ecosystem that is unique in Europe – a key success factor being its funding through the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) with a funding rate of 80%. A model that has also attracted significant international attention.
Coherence between Funding Instruments:
- Participants agreed that funding landscapes are often characterized by so-called “silo thinking.” A lack of overview of available programs and how they can be combined makes it difficult to allocate resources efficiently. Where intermediaries are active, synergies between regional, national, and European levels are already being utilized more effectively.
Seals of Excellence:
- The instrument of Seals of Excellence – known from Horizon 2020 – was highlighted as a positive example of potential synergies. It allows projects deemed worthy of funding by the EU, but not financed, to be supported with national or regional resources. In practice, however, this potential has so far been hardly utilized. Many funding authorities still see the need for clarification regarding operational implementation.
Smart Specialisation Strategies (S3)
- Another topic was the role of Smart Specialisation Strategies, which are developed in regions as a basis for targeted use of ERDF funds. Closer alignment of these strategies with CBE JU initiatives is seen as an important step to embed the bioeconomy more firmly in regional development strategies.
Outlook and Next Steps
At the conclusion of the event, CBE JU announced several concrete measures:
- • Establishing a platform with regional participation to foster exchange among stakeholders.
- • Supporting future DEMO and FLAGSHIP projects in linking to national and regional funding bodies.
- • Piloting the use of “Seals of Excellence” in cooperation with interested regions as part of the 2026 and 2027 pilot calls.
The workshop highlighted the strong interest in better connecting funding instruments. At the same time, it became clear that structural barriers and knowledge gaps still need to be addressed.