BlueMissionBANOS was implemented in the context of the Horizon Europe Mission Restore our Ocean and Waters within the BANOS (Baltic & North Sea) lighthouse area. The project responded to the need to establish effective Mission governance and citizen and stakeholder engagement within the BANOS lighthouse area, thereby fostering effective pathways for coordinating existing regional actions and creating new ones to achieve the Mission objectives. Since BMB was one of the first projects implemented under the Mission Ocean programme, it initially aimed to reach out, inspire, engage, and subsequently support stakeholders across the Baltic and North Seas in endorsing and becoming active members of the Mission Ocean community. BMB operationalised this ambition by establishing and running four Mission Arenas across the BANOS region, creating structured spaces for co-creation, experimentation, and dialogue between policymakers, scientists, innovators, citizens, and other societal actors.
The overall objectives of BMB were to support the implementation of the Mission Restore our Ocean and Waters at the regional level, strengthen cross-regional cooperation in the BANOS area, and generate actionable knowledge, tools, and processes that enabled inclusive, place-based Mission delivery. The project focused on enabling systemic change by integrating scientific knowledge, social innovation, and policy processes, with a strong emphasis on social sciences and humanities through participatory methods, co-design, and deliberative engagement.
The project impacts included improved alignment between EU Mission objectives and regional priorities, increased stakeholder ownership of Mission actions, enhanced regional capacity to design and implement Mission-related activities, and strengthened evidence for policy development. BMB results contributed to tackling fragmentation in ocean and water governance and to accelerating progress towards Mission objectives through inclusive and scalable approaches.
