Public Engagement (PE) and Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) have emerged, in the last decade, as the results of policies and initiatives demanding the early involvement of multiple actors, including the public, in science and innovation. Nevertheless, the early engagement of actors is facing many challenges, and PE rarely goes beyond the stage of consultation. On the other hand, the integration of co-creation in European STI policy and programmes faces barriers such as: scarce understanding of co-creation among researchers and policy makers; “sectorialised” approach to STI policy making; lack of effective knowledge to cope with constraints that hamper the co-creation process. The introduction of design methodologies and tools is emerging as a valuable approach to deal with these problems, as design has been already recognised as key to operationalise co-creation in different fields. Thanks to an iterative process centred on prototyping - co-design effectively support co-creation to move from the ideation of new solutions and policies to their implementation. Given this framework, SISCODE aims: to understand co-creation as a bottom-up and design-driven phenomenon that is flourishing in Europe (in fab labs, living labs, social innovations, smart cities, communities and regions); to analyse favourable conditions that support its effective introduction, scalability and replication; and to use this knowledge to cross-fertilise RRI practices and policies. To reach this aim SISCODE will: run a European study to compare co-creation ecosystems and describe effective dynamics and outcomes of the integration of society in science and innovation; experiment with design as a new system of competences capable to support the development of implementable RRI and STI solutions and policies; and understand the transformations needed to embed co-creation in STI policy making, overcoming barriers and resistance to change and considering organisational transformation.

"The process of globalization has encouraged Multinational companies to spread their branches and offices all over the world. Globalization has inevitably kindled keen competition in the operations of all business. This competition has generated a need among all the enterprises, and especially SMEs, to adjust their strategies for their survival.Technology and the transfer of discoveries and knowledge to SMEs is a recognized milestone in building and sustaining a robust and innovative European economy but the professional requirements and the skills needed to work across countries, institutions, regulations and sectors to facilitate this process are as diverse as the cultures they represent.OBJECTIVES The general objective of Transnational Technology Transfer Entrprise Agent project was to increase and upgrade skills and competences of European SMEs in the field of transnational technology transfer and accelerate public and private stakeholder organizations in increasing their responsiveness to SMEs skills needs. Specifically TTTEA aimed at 1) minding the gap between SMEs and transnational technology innovation processes; 2) establish a permanent, transparent, recognition oriented, evolving & multi-actor training mechanism which will allow to respond to the needs of SME's 3) increase institutional capacity and awareness of responsible actors of industrial, technological and training policies about the role of transnational technology transfer for SMEs and extend cooperation between SMEs, Research, Service Providers and VET& Training System actors.TARGET GROUPS The target groups of the project include: SMEs: Managers, Technical and administrative staff, consultants; Cluster Organizations: technical staff, consultants; R&D Centres (including Universities and their Technology Transfer Offices): researchers, technical staff; Technology Parks and Business Development Centres: technical staff, consultants; Economic Development Bodies (Regional Development Agencies, Governance levels designing policies): policy officers, management, technical staff; VET and Higher Education: trainers, researchers, technical staff, administrative staff, learners. ACTIVITIES In order to achieve the planned objectives, the project has been structured around 8 Work-packages and 4 Intellectual Outputs which has been implemented by the project partners combining training, technology, outreach to SMEs and policy anchoring capacities: WP1 - Project Management; WP2 - Quality Management; WP3 - Evaluation and Risk Management; WP4 - Dissemination and Exploitation; WP5 - Minding the GAP: SMEs & Transnational Technology Transfer, aimed at creating a knowledge base about current successful practices which combine technology transfer & training methods to support these processes and further strengthen them; WP6 - Mapping skills needs & Develop Competence Profile of the ""Ideal TTE Agent"" which focuses on mapping the competences of the TTTE Agent; WP7 focused on producing the curriculum and in the development and testing of the TTTEA Training Program; WP8 delivered 2 sets of final guidelines, one for policy levels and the second one for VET system & Innovation system actors and to set up of a Transnational Technology Transfer Training Cooperation Network"". RESULTS The main project result with a long terms perspective consists in creating a winning coperation mechanism between training & educational system and European SMEs, starting from the network of partners and stakeholders, contributing to adopt transnational technology transfer as a means to accelerate growth and development. Shot term project results may be summarized as follows: 1) SMEs increased awareness level about technology transfer processes at transnational level; 2) Training & Service Providers increased knowledge about how to simplify technology transfer processes; 3) available training (including competence profile, training course structure and content); 4) increased capacity of the educational / training / service side to respond to educational / training needs with a more close to market and understandable language; 5) effective participation of the governance level & VET System actors to the information and awareness raising initiatives; 6) increased knowledge about how developed training can be transformed & readapted according to technological trends and SMEs needs (and how formal VET training course can be anchored to more situational learning settings based on SMEs daily operations).The Transnational Technology Transfer Entrprise Agent is a person specifically trained to manage the processes of technology transfer and could be a key figure in European to make SMEs more competitive on the market.The ideal Transnational Technology Transfer Entrprise Agent needs to integrate the traditional competences of a technology manager with competences related to the management of transnational processes."

The "A Soil Deal for Europe" Mission aims to accelerate the transition to healthy soils by 2030 through the establishment of 100 Soil Health Living Labs and Lighthouses (SHLL/LHs) that will drive the development and adoption of solutions. The Framework Partnership SOILL, led by ENoLL (the international association of certified Living Labs), has been created to coordinate, support, expand, and promote the network of 100 SHLL/LHs. During the initial two years of SOILL, the SOILL-Startup project will collaborate with the first waves of SHLL/LHs and key stakeholders to launch the SOILL one-stop structure. This involves: 1) Establishing a high-quality structure for SHLL/LHs with clear processes and procedures. A web-based Hub will be created to facilitate outreach, collaboration, support, and monitoring within and beyond the 100 SHLL/LHs network. 2) Providing comprehensive support to SHLL/LHs for a harmonized and sustainable approach within the network. This includes capacity building through training and supporting tools on methodologies, technical aspects, and cross-cutting areas. Regular monitoring and evaluation of SHLL/LHs will be conducted based on a consolidated assessment framework. 3) Supporting network expansion by promoting, engaging, matchmaking, and advising applicants to Mission calls. Events will be organized to showcase funding opportunities, provide examples, and disseminate information on the SHLL/LH concept and its implementation. Webinars, coaching, and matchmaking will assist applicants in conceptualization and consortia creation for their applications. 4) Facilitating knowledge exchange, collaboration, and synergy creation within the SHLL/LHs network and the wider community. SOILL-Startup will enhance the visibility and accessibility of the SHLL/LHs, their work, and achievements. Mutual-learning events, collaborative platforms, mutual visits, and matchmaking will facilitate collaboration opportunities, knowledge sharing, and solution uptake.

Europe has been in the forefront for research and innovation, even though at different paces depending on specific location. In this context, ACCELERO – Accelerating Local Innovation Ecosystems in Europe aims at contributing to reverse the unbalanced business activity in Europe by increasing the attractiveness of (less advanced) ecosystems: making ‘modest’ and ‘moderate’ innovation ecosystems more attractive to local startups that will benefit from a strong local support and avoid relocation to EU hubs as well to international companies interested in setting up their businesses outside the established and well-known centres. It also aims at tapping into the potential of local ecosystems through co-designed programmes of activities proposed jointly by business acceleration entities located in less connected innovation ecosystems (‘modest’ and ‘moderate’) and innovation hubs (‘strong innovators’ and innovation leaders’), to improve the quality of business acceleration services, their network outreach and scale-up support. ACCELERO has the ambition of creating a pan-European community of business support organisations (BSOs) as the one-stop shop for all BSOs and its “customers”, the startups and SMEs, as well as for peer-to-peer exchange, networking and connectedness for all stakeholders engaged in the broader innovation ecosystem. This will be achieved with an initial ACCELERO extended community apart from consortium members to co-create and pilot-test high-quality business acceleration services with European BSOs from emerging and moderate innovators together with experts from strong and leader innovation regions or Member States, followed by the launch of the community inside Euroquity platform.

The Mission “A Soil Deal for Europe” aims to pioneer, showcase, and accelerate the transition to healthy soils by 2030, supporting the long-term commitments at European and global level within the Green Deal and Sustainable Development Goals. Ultimately, the creation of 100 Living Labs (LLs) and Lighthouses (LHs) will accelerate the creation and uptake of solutions by land managers, showcase measurable increase in soil health, improved social capital and citizen awareness. SOILL – lead by ENoLL, the international association of certified LLs – aims to set up and run an effective, agile, transdisciplinary, capillary, open and fair one-stop-shop structure. This will coordinate, support, enlarge, and promote the network of 100 Soil Mission LLs and LLs, and ensure their co-created, user-centred, harmonized, reliable, impactful, replicable, and sustainable lead of the transition towards healthy soils across different settings, geographical and socio-economic contexts. To facilitate this, the SOILL action plan has been designed to be agile and ready to adapt to the specific needs and requirements of LLs and LHs (applicant and established) as well of the different actors relevant in the different ecosystems and value chains. SOILL will support the production, exchange, and integration of knowledge to be transformed into specific and specialised skills for expanding practice, social capital, and policies. SOILL will help established LLs and LHs - as well as regional and national stakeholders seen as potential applicants - in building peer-to-peer relationships to ensure that best practices, guidance, knowledge, and lessons learnt are meaningfully shared and that they can learn from each other and scale up implementation of innovative approaches. Alongside, SOILL will start, facilitate, and coordinate the interaction of the network in the wider framework of the soil-related ecosystems, engaging all relevant stakeholders at national, European, and international level.