The overall aim of ShapingBio is to support and accelerate bioeconomy innovation and the deployment of new knowledge in the EU and its member states. ShapingBio aims to provide evidence-based and concrete information and recommendations for better policy alignment and stakeholder actions to realize the cross-sectoral potential of the bioeconomy and to reduce the fragmentation across bio-based sectors and food system and policies across regions, domains and governance levels. These actions contribute significantly to the bioeconomy strategy and Action Plan, the farm to fork strategy, the EU Green Deal policy priorities and the EU's Climate ambition for 2030 and 2050. For that purpose, ShapingBio aims to create a better understanding and information basis of the bioeconomy innovation eco-system by providing a comprehensive mapping and analysis of initiatives, structures, policy instruments and key gaps related to the topics policy and governance, applied R&D and technology transfer, (cross-sectoral) collaboration and financing across the EU macro-regions and different sectors. This will be carried out in close collaboration with various types of stakeholders from different sectors, by ensuring the involvement of all the relevant actors. Multi-actor groups will be set up to support policy advice design, but also to propose new forms of matchmaking, networking and knowledge-transfer. Those propositions will be implemented and tested in around twenty events. Based on these actions, recommendations for an effective governance in terms of policy instrument and their mixes will be derived as well as guidelines for different stakeholder groups for better collaboration and exploitation of bioeconomy innovations. Follow-up events will be conducted, to ensure that the recommendations are understood, actively reflected and implemented into stakeholders' activities and action plans to foster the deployment of bio-based innovations.

Current seafood traceability tools and services have the potential to take advantage of novel blockchain technologies to obtain a wide range of data making sustainable seafood practices more visible to consumers. Sea2See project will fill in existing seafood traceability gaps through development of an innovative end-to-end blockchain model and professional and consumer applications to increase trust and social acceptance of sustainably fished and farmed seafood. The project will provide technological solutions to answer the need of a valuable source of data collected throughout the whole seafood value chain, verified and covering inputs from diverse stakeholders. For that purpose, a specific focus will be put on active commitment of stakeholders and real empowerment of consumers through the implementation of societal and sectoral strategies for co-creation, communication and awareness raising.

The SWEET project has been designed to i) identify and address the barriers and facilitators to the use of sweeteners and sweetness enhancers (S&SEs) and ii) examine the risks and benefits of using S&SEs to replace sugar in the diet in the contexts of health, obesity, safety and sustainability. Industry experts will integrate technological, health and sweetness databases to provide a platform on which new and emerging S&SEs can be selected for inclusion in food products. The behavioural and physiological impact of specific S&SEs will be examined in acute and repeated dosing studies and natural population differences (by age, region, gender etc) in sweetness perception established. A sensory profile will be developed and genetic determinants assessed. The core randomised controlled trial will adopt a whole diet approach to examine the impact of prolonged sugar replacement on weight control, appetite and energy intake. Underlying mechanistic effects of S&SE use, alone and in combination, will be evaluated using the technology platform developed in acute studies. Outcomes relating to safety and overall health risks will be i) measured in acute and chronic studies and ii) investigated in secondary data (long term interventions, prospective cohorts). The preferences for and perceptions of S&SEs within European consumers, and the barriers to their acceptance, consumption and use will be determined. The environmental cost and sustainability of replacing sugar with S&SEs will also be modelled. Consumers will be engaged to inform research design, and stakeholder driven exploitation and impact plans will be developed to communicate and disseminate project objectives and results to i) address the role of sweeteners in weight control for target audiences (consumers, health professions, scientists, policy makers, regulators) and ii) move effective products nearer to market. A gender action plan will be developed and implemented to promote equity across all research activities.

The DIRECTIVE 2009/128/EC ON THE SUSTAINABLE USE OF PESTICIDES gives directions for attaining the sustainable use of pesticides in the EU. The objective is to minimize risks and impacts for the environment and human health by promoting alternative strategies. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is one of the cornerstones of the Directive. NOVATERRA aims to reduce the use and negative impacts of CONTENTIOUS PLANT PROTECTION PRODUCTS (PPP) for integrated pest, disease and weed management in the two main Mediterranean crops in Europe: grapevines and olives. NOVATERRA will develop a pool of novel, integrated and sustainable strategies, technically and economically viable, resulting from three different approaches: a) To develop novel combinations of ALTERNATIVE, non-synthetic PRODUCTS and biological control techniques for plant protection, b) To optimize the application and dosage of PPP through SMART FARMING technologies and c) To mitigate the appearance of pest and diseases through the use of new SOIL MANAGEMENT strategies. Those approaches will be evaluated and validated in a combination of integrated solutions for updating and improving IPM strategies. Indicators for measuring the impact of crop management and protection on human health, air, water, soil, biodiversity, energy will be implemented. Further analyses will be done in terms of economic cost-benefit for farmers to adopt the different techniques and farmers and consumers’ willingness to pay. The consortium composition will guarantee a multi-actor approach with contributions coming from research institutions, growers, technological SMEs, auxiliary industry and relevant associations. Finally, the Exploitation Plan together with the Communication and Dissemination Plan will ensure the outreach of results among the stakeholders in the European farming sector. NOVATERRA outputs will also be key for further discussion with policymakers in terms of EU plant health policies and risk assessment around PPPs usage.