CTA (Corporación Tecnológica de Andalucía) held a workshop in Stuttgart (Germany) as part of the European project ROBIN, in collaboration with the project’s German partner, Steinbeis Europa Zentrum. The Mutual Learning Workshop, attended by over 45 people both in person and online, served to share experiences and lessons learned in developing tools that help promote the Circular Bioeconomy in Europe.

Specifically, the workshop aimed to share and exchange results from several EU-funded projects focused on generating tools to support regional, municipal, and local governance of the Circular Bioeconomy. Representatives from other European projects such as BIOMODELS4REGIONS, BIOTRANSFORM, CEE2ACT, SUSTRACK, and strategic initiatives like the CCRI (Circular Cities and Regions Initiative) participated in the event.

During the workshop, tools developed within the framework of the ROBIN project (included in the ROBIN Toolbox) were presented to European regional authorities and other stakeholders interested in learning how to use them to support better governance of the Circular Bioeconomy. Preliminary results from its first testing phase were also shared. Additionally, information was provided about the open call for external regions to participate in training sessions on these tools.

Additionally, the experience of the Prodavje-Maribor region (Slovenia) in developing its Circular Bioeconomy Strategy from the perspective of the CCRI methodology was presented.

During the event, Mar Cátedra, Technical Advisor from the Ministry of Agriculture of the Andalusian Regional Government, spoke about the regional experience in testing the tools from the ROBIN project. María García, a consultant from CTA, moderated the event and led a final discussion on identifying potential synergies between the various tools presented, taking into account regional needs.

ROBIN, accelerating the green transition

The European project ROBIN, funded by the Horizon Europe programme, aims to promote innovative governance models in the Circular Bioeconomy to help regional administrations accelerate the green transition.

The Andalusian partners in the project are the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, and Rural Development (CAPADR) of the Andalusian Regional Government, the Andalusian Institute of Agricultural, Fisheries, Food, and Organic Production Research and Training (IFAPA), and CTA.

Led by the Greek partner Q-PLAN, the full title of the ROBIN project is “Deploying Circular BIOeconomies at the regional level with a territorial approach.” Its goal is to assist European regional authorities in using social innovation techniques and shaping their governance structures to boost the Circular Bioeconomy.

Andalusia is strongly committed to the Circular Bioeconomy, being one of the first European regions to adopt a Circular Bioeconomy governance model, specifically the Andalusian Strategy for the Circular Bioeconomy (EABC). Additionally, the Andalusian Circular Economy Law (LECA) establishes the necessary mechanisms for implementing policies and regulations related to the Circular Economy and Circular Bioeconomy.