BITNET Network (Business, Innovation and Technology Network-BITNET) as a single network of excellence, will build on the results of the BITIN and BITNET Network, offering integrated services in support to business and innovation. The BITNET partners agreed again to work together within the Enterprise Europe Network, covering whole territory of Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter FB&H). BITNET consortium will provide a variety of the Network services and continued support to their clients in internationalisation, innovation and Single Market. BITNET consortium will implement fundamental principles of the Network (client-centric approach, network effect and quality management) and combine a continued “no-wrong door” concept with the Network principles. The network of competent and proficient partners will implement the project. Consortium partners are: The Foreign Trade Chamber of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FTC), located in Sarajevo-coordinator, Sarajevo Economic Region Development Agency (SERDA) located in Sarajevo-partner, University of Sarajevo (UNSA) located in Sarajevo-partner, INTERA Technology Park (INTERA) located in Mostar-partner, Zenica Economic Development Agency (ZEDA) located in Zenica-partner, BIT Centre (BIT) located in Tuzla-partner and Development Agency of the Una-Sana Canton (DAUSC) located in Bihać-partner. All the partners are strategically chosen because of their experience and position in FB&H, namely the cities are the main centers of economic activities in FB&H and most of SMEs are concentrated around these cities. The Consortium partners will be delivering Kay Account management (KAM) services and services to enhance the innovation management capacity of SMEs, within project, will be UNSA, INTERA and BIT. All these activities will support SMEs on their way of becoming more competitive internationally.

If biodiversity is to be placed back on a path to recovery, new tools and knowledge are required to redirect financial resources from destructive economic activity towards nature-positive investment. The financial system consists of interacting and dynamic actors who value certainty (rules and governance structures) and efficiency (outcome transparency and low monitoring costs). We aim to create a unifying framework and technology that creates the enabling conditions for nature-positive investments. Activities that protect and restore biodiversity (such as nature-based solutions) are frequently unique, multi-actor efforts carried out at a local scale with positive, but complex outcomes. We resolve this by establishing a categorisation of nature based solutions (NBS) alongside a menu of good governance structures and a library of stakeholder engagement. This will draw on expertise and best practice in natural capital and economics to streamline decision making and accelerate transaction completion by standardising the investment process and creating the enabling conditions for large-scale finance. To accelerate nature-positive business models, we create a data analytics and underwriting engine to advance conventional project appraisal and risk assessment and account for and model expected outcomes. We will assess and validate our approach across diverse real-life case studies (learning sites). Our findings and approach will initiate a twin green and digital transition that resolves transaction complexity and creates the enabling conditions for large-scale investment that are required if the EU is to achieve its biodiversity goals. Our outcomes will identify remaining gaps in the Taxonomy and support policy forming through evidence-based recommendations and we will co-design, develop and establish pathways for skills and knowledge accelerators for the European financial services industry.

CapaCITIES 2.0 is designed as a support action for national and regional authorities to advance their governance structures for providing dedicated support for cities to achieve the EU Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission (EU Cities Mission) - answering to the Call HORIZON-MISS-2024-CIT-02-01. As a central initiative to foster and strengthen national narratives for the EU Cities Mission, it will coordinate actions across climate-neutral initiatives for cities in Europe, align and speed up efforts towards the goals of the Mission. CapaCITIES 2.0 will further shape a European environment conducive to urban climate neutrality transitions for national, regional and local authorities. It will initiate and strengthen national change processes to establish and mature national networks and platforms as well as multi-level governance in the entire EU, building on the experience of the CapaCITIES that already started setting-up national platforms in 15 EU countries. It provides dedicated support for public authorities to put enabling conditions and measures for cities in place to achieve the EU Cities Mission. Thereby, it contributes to reach (1) Increased preparedness and capacity of national, regional and local authorities in EU Member States and countries associated to Horizon Europe to engage in cities’ transition towards climate neutrality; (2) Improved ability to effectively address country-specific challenges and barriers for cities to achieve climate neutrality related to current regulatory frameworks, funding and financing, and governance structures and promotion of best-practices through transnational exchanges and sharing of experience and (3) Enhanced synergies with R&I national/international communities, relevant initiatives, and partnerships such as the ‘Driving Urban Transitions to a Sustainable Future’ Horizon Europe Partnership and the NetZeroCities – the EU Mission Platform(NZC) for the implementation of the Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission.

The overarching objective of Connecting Nature is to position Europe as a global leader in the innovation and implementation of nature-based solutions. The project partners will form a community of cities fostering peer-to-peer, transdisciplinary capacity-building between front-runner, fast-follower and multiplier cities. Connecting Nature will co-develop the policy and practices necessary to scale up urban resilience, innovation and governance via nature-based solutions. An open innovation ecosystem approach bringing together city governments, SMEs, academia and civic society will be used to co-produce usable and actionable knowledge in all cities. Connecting Nature will provide the reference framework for a new generation of urban nature-based solution processes and empower transitioning ambassadors who will globalise this approach through a strategy targeting multiplier cities. This novel approach, coupled with the high capacity of the consortium, makes Connecting Nature an exciting prospect. In addition, linking all open-sourced data to the Oppla platform will ensure perpetuation beyond the end of the project.

Agriculture is ingrained in the community‘s history and plays an important economic and cultural role. This sector has influenced the development of the regions across Europe and is one of the key sectors of rural development. Agritourism has been seen core means to diversify the income of farmers. Many regions throughout the world have used their culinary and farm experiences to develop tourism products. The purpose of this project is to understand the opportunities provided by agritourism operations to the tourism sector in the region of Western Balkans.The approach to agritourism development and promotion is seen through:1.Enhancing cooperation of multi-sectoral actors at local level led by college HEIs in the field of tourism, agriculture, and management, 2 Regional Development Agencies in Serbia and 2 regional development agencies in Bosnia&Herzegovina and regional NGO;2.Increased agritourism professional/adults training courses offer (with focus on ICT-based courses)3.Increased teachers/other stakeholders training opportunities with reference to EU CAP and IPARD in Bosnia&Herzegovina and transversal competences in agritourism sector in both Serbia and B&HWith assistance of reputable EU partners - Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia and Greece, major deliverables are prepared as:a.Situational Analysis: understanding of the agritourism sector and agritourist, review of local initiatives, courses, results of the stakeholder consultation, identification of product development and area potentials.b.Agritourism toolkits: in order to provide necessary information to farmers and other stakeholders seeking to become agritourism operators, project team will develop a website and introduce Moodle platform with pertinent information, professional course catalogue in agritourism topics and in transversal competencesc.Boosting agritourism activities across the Western Balkans in mid term run bringing its landscapes closer to the EU