HORIZON-CL6-2026-01-CIRCBIO-06: Bioeconomy policy support hub for Member States, regions and sectors

The Polish Bioeconomy Hub, co-coordinated by the Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation – State Research Institute (IUNG-PIB), (IUNG or other partners from the Hub can join the consortium) a nationally recognised platform fostering collaboration between research institutions, ministries, regions, industry, farmers, youth organisations, NGOs, and education providers. Our mission is to accelerate bioeconomy transformation in Poland and Central and Eastern Europe through knowledge exchange, network building, policy support, and innovation facilitation.

In the context of this call, we can offer complementary and practice-oriented capacities to support the establishment and operation of a European Bioeconomy Policy Support Hub, notably by contributing experience from Central and Eastern Europe and by linking national and EU-level bioeconomy processes.

In particular, we bring:

• Operational experience in managing a multi-actor bioeconomy hub, supporting policy dialogue, coordination and experimentation across the quadruple helix at national and EU level, including outreach to ministries, regions, research organisations, businesses, NGOs and civil society;

• Strong linkages to ongoing and completed Horizon Europe and Interreg projects relevant to bioeconomy policy deployment and monitoring (e.g. CEE2ACT, PATHWAYS, BIOECO-UP, WAB 2.0), as well as active engagement in European and macro-regional initiatives such as BIOEAST and national bioeconomy platforms;

• Expertise in the design and testing of stakeholder engagement tools, including policy labs, co-creation formats, digital networking instruments and structured policy dialogue processes supporting whole-of-government and place-based approaches;

• Capacity to co-develop, localise and disseminate multilingual communication, education and capacity-building tools, addressing policy makers, regional authorities, SMEs, startups, youth and civil society actors, and supporting both formal and informal learning;

• Proven ability to facilitate linkages between science, industry and governance, including through policy pilot actions, social innovation processes, regional bioeconomy roadmapping and support to cross-sectoral value chain collaboration;

• Readiness to host and co-organise open innovation workshops, policy learning events and demonstration activities, including study visits and access to national research and innovation infrastructure relevant for bioeconomy deployment;

• Experience in supporting lean governance models and sustainability strategies for platforms and hubs, including public-private cooperation mechanisms and long-term institutional anchoring beyond project duration;

• Engagement with SMEs, startups and investors active in the bioeconomy, building on existing national initiatives and startup support schemes (e.g. WAB 2.0), contributing to scaling-up pathways and market uptake of bio-based solutions.

We are keen to join or co-create a strong, balanced and geographically diverse consortium and to actively contribute to the implementation, learning processes and long-term sustainability of an EU-wide Bioeconomy Policy Support Hub. In particular, we aim to strengthen the representation of Central and Eastern European Member States and regions, support alignment between national and EU bioeconomy strategies, and ensure that policy support tools and approaches are both transferable and tailored to diverse regional contexts.