To address the 1st specific objective of CASA, the previous and current participation of MS, AC and EC DGs in SCAR and its bodies was assessed at the beginning and towards the end of the project. Results of the 1st study were discussed at the SCAR Conference in Tallinn, Estonia, 4th - 5th December 2017. Outcomes of the 2nd study were discussed at the SCAR conference 2019 and the report was submitted in August 2019.
To increase visibility, highlight the relevance of SCAR and to motivate new and less active countries to increase their participation in SCAR, SCAR meetings were held in Spain, Bulgaria, Hungary, Greece, Italy, Poland, Portugal, France; a Baltic meeting was held in Latvia. Some of these meetings were also aimed at promoting the development of national and/or regional bioeconomy strategies.
A mentoring programme was implemented to help newly appointed country representatives in SCAR bodies become acquainted with SCAR and its context more quickly, and so that they could learn from experienced delegates.
The 2nd objective was addressed by providing support and facilitation to the working groups (WGs), to the Foresight Group and the EC. SWGs Bioeconomy, Forest, AKIS, Food Systems and ARCH benefitted from facilitation support provided by CASA. Support and facilitation activities comprised support in the organisation of meetings, e.g. planning, moderation, and writing of reports, etc.
Funding for expert studies was another important CASA instrument utilised by all WGs and the Foresight Group, e.g. to examine funding strategies and programmes in the EU, identify gaps, address gaps and study specific topics of importance to SCAR. One of the main activities of SCAR is the Foresight Exercise. The implementation and impact of the 4th Foresight Exercise outcomes were assessed and recommendations for improvements were made.
Furthermore, an impact assessment framework (IAF) was developed, supported by an implementation plan strategy. This tool will support SCAR in providing improved quality of outputs and outcomes for greater impact. It was published in September 2019 on the SCAR website.
The 3rd objective was addressed through a SWOT analysis of the bioeconomy R&I policy landscape and the outcomes in terms of achieving transformative change. It reviewed some of the principle R&I policy frameworks adopted at EU level to support the bioeconomy. Building on the results of the study, opportunities for improvement were highlighted to give further impetus to increased participation and use of SCAR as a policy think tank influencing national and European research strategies and programmes. Furthermore, guidelines for the initiation and setting-up of new SCAR activities were developed and published.
An analysis was made on better alignment of R&I policies in coordination with SCAR. As result a list of proposals for better alignment was published in September 2019.
The IAF, and its supporting strategy and implementation plan, is a basis for strengthening the production of more strategic policy advice.
To address the 4th specific objective, communication and dissemination materials were developed to increase the visibility of SCAR and its outcomes and products. CASA created a new official SCAR website (
https://scar-europe.org/(odnośnik otworzy się w nowym oknie)) which replaced the previous SCAR website hosted by the EC. CASA also provided support in harmonising the layout of communication tools and media across all SCAR bodies to strengthen the branding and visibility of SCAR. Finally, two issues of the new annual SCAR Newsletter were published prior to SCAR Plenary meetings. The newsletters are publicly available on the website and disseminated directly to all SCAR contributors.
In the figure below the four specific objectives of CASA are matched to the activities and outcomes in relation to the corresponding communication and dissemination target groups. These groups are listed in the outer margin of the figure.
