The title Green Economy is referring to both green technological innovation as economic development. 

Our aim is to achieve higher value from bio based raw materials for purpose of medicine and healthy and safe food production.

Our presumption is that our potential products and produce in our regions in and around the bio based sector require market creation and business support.

Our regions are challenged by governance: ‘re-thinking’ and supporting interaction between all 4-helix target groups.

Background:

During the latest decade successful sectors grew to clusters and by doing so business development was enhanced and regions in the North Sea Area became more competitive. Still clusters and business networks tend to stand on their own in their own sectors.

A tendency in society as described in our regions’ RIS (research and innovation strategy) is to focus on themes, values and market potential rather than stay in clustered high competences. The regions collected in the Green Economy Project recognize themselves in the trend to strive for higher value of produce, products and by-products in order to enhance competitiveness.

The regions in GEP have a strong agricultural background and food sector. They have clusters in for instance water quality, energy, high tech systems, agro-food, chemical industry and ICT. The bio based sector seems to connect these sectors since it uses competences from all of them.

The next step to take in our regions is paying attention to the whole life time cycle from design to production, end of lifetime of a product in circular thinking: defined as Circular Economy.

The Green Economy Project introduces a more active role of Life Sciences in this bio based economy. Both health and sustainable food production are on top of the list of the regional agenda’s. We will do so by working on integration of these sectors and creating awareness amongst citizens how to contribute to their own health and to that of others.

Clearly this ambition needs organisational re-thinking as well: this means a strong emphasis on the quadruple helix and bottom-up approach. Our project will facilitate target groups with regards to ‘what do we need for healthy life’.

The title Green Economy is referring to both green technological innovation as economic development. 

Our aim is to achieve higher value from bio based raw materials for purpose of medicine and healthy and safe food production.

Our presumption is that our potential products and produce in our regions in and around the bio based sector require market creation and business support.

Our regions are challenged by governance: ‘re-thinking’ and supporting interaction between all 4-helix target groups

Aim: the Green Economy Project aims to support these steps to a Green Economy by:

• researching and stimulating product development from (refined) bio based raw material in order to achieve high value from plants (preferably high in the pyramid, such as medicinal appliance and food)
• Develop education material and ‘living labs’ in order to show, experience, and co-create regarding the theme ‘value of plants for health and lifestyle’ for the four target groups (4-helix)

• Twining clusters/sectors in order to support business development and boost the circular way of thinking (design, production process, business models, by-products handling) over the sectors, such as agriculture and food, water quality, high tech systems and materials, chemical industry and energy.

• Strategic level: describe a model which works best to re-thinking during the whole lifetime cycle.

• Facilitate SME’s in setting up their business cases by supporting consortia in terms of legal and finance, such as intellectual property and new ways to attract investors.

• Transnational exchange of knowledge and networks in order to give input to policy, built stronger supply chains, first steps to combined research programmes and inspire local communities.

Looking for similar partner regions:

Introduction: The region of West-Flanders (BE), Central Denmark (DK), Angus (Scotland, UK), Osterholz (GE) and Northern Netherlands are characterised by a complex set of assets, which makes the regions fit for bottom up innovation by SME’s and several MNE’s.  High tech innovation and next to that a lot of SME’s with a high technical skills level are all located in a rural area with a strong agricultural background and economy, varying from stockbreeding, horticulture, dairy and growing crop. These assets are a good starting point for green innovation. Our regions are looking for regions with similar profiles.

Quadruple helix principle

Our regions decided to work according the 4-helix principle. Business, knowledge and government are looking for a strong interaction with users/consumers. The aim is to involve consumer organisations in our support network. Next to that consumer or user should have a key position in developing new business models and thinking in turn-too-models. There is no scientific material available yet on how to involve users/consumers, though examples from ‘the business model generation’ seem to work.

Example:

The region of Northern Netherlands is currently forming a bottom up consortium based on the quadruple helix principle:

-          Cluster for Plant Value: companies in South-Eastern Drenthe (business network)

-          De Kruidhof, botanical garden (envisaged visitor’s centre showcasing development of bio based products and the value of medical plants)

-          Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Groningen

-          Province of Drenthe and Municipality of Achtkarspelen (public sector)

-          Innovatiehuis Lauwersdelta: regional business incubator

-          IVN: Institute for education on sustainable development (user/consumer)

GEP is looking for a Norwegian and/or Swedish 4-helix partner, whether in development of new products high in the value pyramid (pharmaceuticals, nutriceuticals, food), expertise in new business models and facilitation and organisations who are looking for a strong connection on the topics of health and food to the public by means of education and (virtual) experiences/exhibitions.