Preparing the Research & Innovation Core for Mission Ocean, Seas & Waters

Project Information

PREP4BLUE

Grant agreement ID: 101056957

DOI

10.3030/101056957

Project closed

EC signature date 17 May 2022

Start date 1 June 2022

End date 31 May 2025

Funded under

• Climate, Energy and Mobility

Total cost

€ 4 997 696,25

EU contribution

€ 4 997 690,00

Coordinated by

INSTITUT FRANCAIS DE RECHERCHE POUR L'EXPLOITATION DE LA MER
France

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - PREP4BLUE (Preparing the Research & Innovation Core for Mission Ocean, Seas & Waters)

Reporting period: 2023-12-01 to 2025-05-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Prep4Blue (P4B hereafter) is part of the Mission Ocean, seas and waters (Mission hereafter).
The objective of the Mission is to restore the health of our ocean, seas and waters by 2030, with three measurable specific goals: 1) to protect and restore marine and freshwater ecosystems and biodiversity, 2) to prevent and eliminate pollution of our ocean, seas and waters and 3) to make the Blue Economy sustainable, carbon neutral and circular. This Mission requires support from society, and strong socio-economic adaptations that take into consideration sustainable growth prospects of the Blue Economy. To engage Research and Innovation (R&I) as a key catalyst for achieving such a challenge, a new direction must be taken, towards participatory governance of this Mission.
P4B’s overarching objective is to develop the R&I modalities required to achieve the Mission objectives (MO hereafter) and to facilitate a successful first phase. P4B outcomes will allow the Mission Lighthouses (LHs) to develop and pilot innovation of all forms: technological, social, business models and governance; with an emphasis on the methodologies that will allow co-design and co-implementation of solutions with citizens and stakeholders. The PREP4BLUE Specific Objectives are:
1) To ensure that all EC, international, national and regional initiatives are aligned and complement each other to achieve the Mission objectives.
2) To develop guidelines for a strong, innovative and attractive communication and dissemination strategy for the Mission that will contribute to stakeholders and citizen engagement.
3) To ensure active citizen participation in the co-design and co-implementation of the Mission R&I core activities.
4) To support effective knowledge management to help ensure high potential knowledge/solutions are identified and effectively transferred to target end-users for uptake/application in support of the Mission.
5) To support the creation of an enabling environment from a regulatory and economic perspective, enabling private / public investments needed in future projects.
6) To develop effective measures and models for impactful stakeholder engagement to co-develop and co-implement the scale-up of innovative solutions leading to the achievement of the Mission objectives.
P4B is designed to lay the foundations and foster a streamlined approach to efficiently and collectively help achieve the Mission goals. The project aims to deliver a series of tools, guidelines, methodologies and recommendations, which will interlink, leverage and optimise activities among the projects funded under the Mission. Our systemic approach will foster cohesion and connectivity between knowledge and technology, funding, regulation, education and skills, social structures and co-creation with R&I actors, citizens and stakeholders.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

PREP4BLUE, as the overarching CSA for the Mission “Restore our Ocean and Waters,” supported the research and innovation ecosystem through the development of strategic tools, methods, and frameworks designed to ensure cross-project alignment and impact.
* WP1 enhanced coordination between Mission actors, including CSAs, LH projects, and international initiatives, and co-authored guidance for national Mission hubs and a shared CSA legacy document. Strategic links with the UN Decade of Ocean Science were developed through the TransOcean Working Group.
* WP2 delivered a full suite of communication tools, including a Mission Narrative Guide, Communication Toolkit, and a multi-platform Digital Academy. It supported visibility via public campaigns and hybrid events like the V.ECOP Days and integrated arts-science collaborations.
* WP3 produced a citizen engagement toolkit, webinars, and a database of initiatives. It piloted engagement actions, refined its toolkit (V2), and provided training materials and strategies to support citizen assemblies aligned with Mission goals.
* WP4 developed the WaveLinks platform, incorporating a semantic Mission ontology, a database of Mission-relevant initiatives, and an interactive Knowledge Transfer Online Showcasing Module (KTOSM). WP4 assessed 103 Key Exploitable Results (KERs), prioritized 21 for development, and designed a Mission Dashboard concept for future impact tracking.
* WP5 conducted regulatory and financial analyses to support scaling of Mission projects, producing a funding gap analysis, policy mapping, and models for public-private financing.
* WP6 created stakeholder engagement guidelines and a method toolkit (available via WaveLinks), piloted multi-actor assemblies across all Lighthouse areas, and expanded the Stakeholder Engagement Helpdesk. Capacity-building was supported through a series of practical workshops and webinars.
Together, these achievements provide a technical and strategic foundation to facilitate coherent implementation, stakeholder participation, and knowledge transfer across the Mission.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Over three years, Prep4Blue developed tools, guides, platforms, and insights across six major pillars to empower Mission projects, policymakers, Charter signatories, and stakeholders at all levels.

1. Communication & Dissemination
Communication Toolkit
Mission Website
Digital Academy
Lighthouse mobile journalism
Social campaigns across LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube & more

2. Citizen Engagement
Citizen engagement toolkit
Best practices report in citizen science
Webinar series on citizen engagement
Training & legacy resources
Workshops & courses
Citizen science initiatives database
Pilot actions on citizen engagement report

3. Knowledge & Solutions Transfer
WaveLinks platform
Methodology
Mission Ontology
Impact Pathway tool demo
5888 projects and 139 solutions available for exploration

4. Policy, Regulation & Finance
Funding Recommendations
Business model blueprints
Regulatory Mapping
Inter-regional (RIS3) insights
Public-private interaction case studies

5. Stakeholder Engagement
Stakeholder engagement guidelines
Toolbox (47 methods)
Helpdesk
Pilot Stakeholder Assemblies
Skills & capacities building
Gender & inclusiveness guide
Stakeholder engagement results

6. Mission Governance
Guidance for establishing National Hubs
Cross-basin insights from CSAs

PREP4BLUE WorkPackages

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