Periodic Reporting for period 1 - BioAgora (Bio Knowledge Agora: Developing the Science Service for European Research and Biodiversity Policymaking)
Période du rapport: 2022-07-01 au 2023-12-31
Despite improved understanding of the need for science to inform biodiversity-related policy making and the rich field of science-policy interfaces (SPIs), there remains a gap in ensuring that decision makers across all societal sectors have direct access to research-based knowledge when planning, budgeting and deciding on actions that have an impact on local, national, EU and global biodiversity. BioAgora will develop a Science Service, which responds to the present gaps and future needs in SPIs providing the science pillar of the EU’s Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity (KCBD). The Science Service aims to ratchet up the EU biodiversity commitments, starting with the Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 (BDS 2030), by orchestrating science-policy interactions within the EU. It will channel the entire breadth of EU biodiversity science, from data collection to meta-analyses, into actionable knowledge and communicate this knowledge through two-way platforms to EU institutions and the broader community. BioAgora will go beyond the state of the art by co-creating new ways of bridging the gap between science, practice and policy and use this as a basis for the Science Service’s development for future needs.
We started with an in-depth understanding of the challenges and barriers that might hinder the implementation of the Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 (BDS2030), a key requirement to achieve the goals of the project. A typology of challenges for implementing the BDS2030 was developed. In close collaboration between several WPs, we developed a first framework of functions of the future Science Service for Biodiversity (SSBD). Potential functions focus on answering policy requests and building evidence base, supported by building topical networks and ensuring capacity of the networks under the overarching function of transforming processes including horizon scanning, research prioritization, supporting biodiversity mainstreaming and providing feedback to policy frameworks. Functions are tested in four demonstration cases (Nature-Based Solutions, Pollination, Freshwater, and Marine). From the lessons learned we iteratively improve the framework and refine the scope and definition of the functions. In parallel, we analysed networks to support the identification and conceptual framing of relevant stakeholders for the SSBD, which is essential for its development and long-term functioning, and to explore their expectations about the forthcoming Science Service (WP2). An assessment framework to support the transformative potential of networks at the science-policy-society interface (SPSI) was co-produced by BioAgora project partners. We started to set up a framework for the creation of a database to collect policy-relevant knowledge (WP3). Several meetings were held with the BioAgora coordinators, the KCBD and DG RTD to obtain general feedback and check the policy relevance of the database. We developed a systematic methodology for identifying relevant projects funded through the EU research frameworks and harvested knowledge from these. A series of workshops with the EC and KCBD were organized to agree shared goals for developing the SSBD (WP4). Also, we developed a framework to set up the future ethical infrastructure, as well as a Task force “Answering requests support function”, which set out a protocol for processing requests received through the KCBD’s ticketing system. BioAgora tested the protocol by processing the first urgent request on the relationship between deadwood and fire risk in Europe, and after that requests related to marine biodiversity have been received. Several meetings with the EC and KCBD helped to identify needs on the SSBD web platform and data management. In WP5 we screened and analysed existing capacity development initiatives and co-developed a data collection methodology with project partners through a series of online discussions. To coordinate our work (WP6) we held two Consortium Assembly online meetings and two hybrid partner meetings, weekly meetings with the Coordination Team, monthly meetings with the Steering Committee, and we launched the internal newsletter and internal weekly café meetings. An External Research and Stakeholder Network (ERSN) working group was established to promote project internal collaboration of stakeholder engagement. BioAgora’ s observers to the EU Biodiversity Platform subgroups were nominated to follow meetings of EUBP. The External Advisory Board met three times during the RP1. The BioAgora website was launched in October 2022 (WP7), and we established a series of social media accounts, and promotional materials such as a one-pager, a poster and an introductory video.
BioAgora has strong ambitions to develop inclusive and transformative functions for the future Science Service. We have actively engaged with the Commission and KCBD (JRC) in order to build a Science Service that will accommodate the requests from policy. We also aim for a Service that serves requests from other societal actors in a context-sensitive way. We have also assessed the diverse networks and actors and started engaging with them. We have worked through four demonstration cases, namely Freshwater, Marine, Nature-Based Solutions, and Pollination, by building the topical networks around them, and testing the framework of functions. We have started to set up the ethical infrastructure for the Science Service that would ensure application of just practices and the plurality of knowledge systems we are engaging. We have explored the capacity gaps in the SPI to be able to direct the capacity building activities in the most effective way.