Journal of Science Policy & Governance
​Volume 20, Issue 01 | March 28, 2022

Op-Ed: Public engagement and education can support the transition towards sustainable bioeconomy

Marco M. Grande
University of Bologna, Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Bologna, Italy

​Corresponding author: marcomaria.grande@unibo.it​
Keywords: bioeconomy; public engagement; education; awareness; European Commission; sustainability; sustainable development
https://doi.org/10.38126/JSPG200104

Executive Summary

In August 2021, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change approved a new contribution to its latest report emphasizing the urgency of addressing human-made climate change. One mechanism for this is through the transition towards a fair and sustainable bioeconomy. This transition can build resilience to climate change and other environmental, social and economic challenges of our time but requires the support of public engagement and education activities. The transition must consider communication and educational needs in the implementation and design of current and future European public policies for the development of a sustainable bioeconomy. Stakeholders need to better understand what the bioeconomy is and what benefits it can bring, while also acquiring newly required skills. Therefore, it is necessary to exchange information clearly and transparently, involving key stakeholders at each level. To bridge the skills gap in the European bioeconomy, it is pivotal to offer transdisciplinary education to new generations, while promoting school projects, vocational training, life-long learning programs and informal STEM education. Adequate levels of public funding and commitment will be required to implement such policies. Furthermore, meeting the needs of stakeholders both as audiences and as learners will ensure that no one is left behind. Relevant EU and local policies should support public engagement and education for a sustainable bioeconomy, exploiting the results of EU-funded projects.

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Background header image courtesy of MSUAgBioResearch from Flickr
Marco M. Grande is a research fellow at the University of Bologna, Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences. He has conducted research on public engagement and education in the European bioeconomy under the H2020 project Transition2BIO. He is also involved in the Bioeconomy Unit of the Research Services office at the University of Bologna, supporting the European Bioeconomy University alliance, of which the University of Bologna is a co-founding member. He graduated from the University of Padua with a master’s degree in industrial biotechnology, and from the University of Ferrara with a postgraduate course in institutional science communication.

Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the “Support the TRANSITION towards the BIOeconomy for a more sustainable future through communication, education and public engagement” (Transition2BIO) project, funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement no. 101000539. The author is grateful to all the instructors and organizers of the Science Policy and Advocacy Certificate Program for STEM Scientists (UC-Irvine/JSPG).

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