RIS3CAT Shared Agendas

as platforms for synergies

RIS3CAT 2030 in Knowledge Pills, no. 1
May 2023
 RIS3CAT 2030 in Knowledge Pills
This series of papers aims to share the Catalan Smart Specialisation Strategy
(RIS3CAT 2030) with the broader community

of regional development practitioners. RIS3CAT 2030 is pioneering new policy

approaches, integrating the notion of transformative innovation in Smart Specialisation
Strategies (S3). In Catalonia, the entire S3 policy cycle is imbued with the principles of
participation and experimentation to support the transition towards a more sustainable
and resilient society, in line with the SDGs. This series of papers distils different
elements of the RIS3CAT experience with the aim of supporting dialogue between like-
minded policymakers.

RIS3CAT Shared Agendas as platforms for synergies

RIS3CAT 2030 in knowledge pills, no. 1 (May 2023)

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Secretariat for Economic Affairs and European Funds. Generalitat de Catalunya
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08038 Barcelona
http://fonseuropeus.gencat.cat/
Index

1. Synergies between European funds ......................................................................... 4

2. RIS3CAT 2030: a transformative approach to Smart Specialisation .......................... 6

3. RIS3CAT Shared Agendas ....................................................................................... 7

4. The case of the Shared Agenda of Lleida, Pyrenees and Aran ................................. 9

4.1. Location............................................................................................................. 9

4.2. The origin .......................................................................................................... 9

4.3. The governance .............................................................................................. 10

4.4. Synergies in the Shared Agenda through the BIOHUB CAT ............................ 12

4.5. Synergies in the BIOHUB CAT Tech ............................................................... 13

4.6. Synergies in the BioHub CAT Business Services ............................................ 14

5. Conclusions ............................................................................................................ 16
1. Synergies between European funds

Over the past decade, increasing attention has been

focused, at the EU level, on achieving synergies between
European funds. This increasing attention to synergies is
linked to the need to achieve more effective public spending.
Synergies between funds, such as the ERDF, Horizon
Europe, Next Generation and national, regional and local
funds, are crucial to achieving more with less.

The policy debate has highlighted the fact that there are two
types of synergies:

 Project synergies, in which different elements of a project receive support from

different sources. Current evidence, however, suggests that project-level synergies
are limited and occasional rather than the outcome of a systematic process.
The different intervention logics, funding rates, state aid and eligibility rules hamper
the full development of synergies.

 Policy-level synergies, which are pursued by aligning agendas between initiatives

funded at the regional, national and EU level whilst building research and innovation
capacity among local actors. This is seen as a more viable strategy as well as a pre-
condition for reaping the benefits of project-based synergies, should adequate
instruments arise in the future.

As we shall see throughout this paper, Shared Agendas combine elements of both
types of synergies: in Shared Agendas, initiatives and projects contributing to a
common vision are funded through different instruments. The commitment of the
territory and the participatory governance structure channel local energies and
attention to opportunities arising from different funds whilst building local capacities and
skills. The different initiatives complement each other and, as clarified in the case study
below, are akin to a roadmap in that they are explicitly engineered to move the territory
closer to the vision, in very tangible ways.

This paper describes how synergies between public (and private) funds are emerging
within the Smart Specialisation Strategy of Catalonia (RIS3CAT 2030) as a
consequence of orienting the territory towards addressing common challenges.
RIS3CAT 2030 is centred around the notion of Shared Agendas, through which
stakeholders tackle shared territorial challenges aligned with the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs). Shared Agendas are sustained by a participative
governance model, through which stakeholders identify and pursue initiatives and
roadmaps for their region's transformation. Within this context, synergies emerge as
a natural outcome of the S3 policy cycle. The paper illustrates this process through

RIS3CAT 2030 4
1. Synergies between European funds

a case study of the Shared Agenda of Lleida, the Pyrenees, and Aran, which is focused
on developing a circular bioeconomy in a rural and increasingly de-populated area.
In particular, we look at the BIOHUB Cat, one of the Shared Agenda's flagship
initiatives, which is pursuing the creation of a bioeconomy hub by exploiting synergies
between regional, national and EU funds (both the European Regional Development
Fund [ERDF] and Horizon Europe).

RIS3CAT 2030 5
2. RIS3CAT 2030: a transformative approach
to Smart Specialisation

The Smart Specialisation Strategy of Catalonia (RIS3CAT 2030), approved by the

regional Government in November 2022, is a regional response to the global social,
economic and environmental challenges of our time. RIS3CAT 2030 pursues a green,
digital, resilient and fair socioeconomic model through transformative research and
innovation organised around Shared Agendas (see Figure 1).

Shared Agendas, which are at the heart of this paper, aim to develop viable
alternatives to unsustainable dominant practices and accelerate transitions towards
a socioeconomic model aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
They do so by encouraging shared reflection to generate changes in beliefs, values,
behaviours, and ways of understanding and engaging with the environment. They
pursue highly participatory approaches that include actors traditionally neglected in
research, innovation, public policy design and implementation processes.

As this paper argues, by orienting a territory towards identifying and addressing

common challenges, Shared Agendas can serve as a platform that allows us to
capitalise on strategic synergies between EU, national, regional and sub-regional
funds.

Figure 1. RIS3CAT 2030 in a nutshell

RIS3CAT promotes transformative, responsible research and innovation with impact on the
quality of life of people and the territory

Enabling technologies RIS3CAT Shared Agendas

• Artificial intelligence
• Cybersecurity, connectivity and
blockchain
• Microelectronics and
nanoelectronics, photonics and
quantum technologies
• Advanced sustainable materials
• Biotechnology
• Advanced digital manufacturing
New digital- and technology-
based industry
• A sustainable, fair, equitable and healthy food
system
• An environmentally-friendly, emissions-neutral
energy and resource system
• A sustainable mobility and logistics system
• A universal, sustainable, resilient social and
health care system
• A reflective, proactive, inclusive and responsive
education and knowledge-generation system
• A sustainable and competitive industrial system
• A cultural system that integrates people, territory
and history

Greener, more digital, more resilient and fairer socioeconomic model

RIS3CAT 2030 6
3. RIS3CAT Shared Agendas

RIS3CAT 2030 revolves around the notion of Shared Agendas. Shared Agendas are
initiatives established via participatory governance models to articulate collective action
towards common challenges. Shared Agendas are conceptually inspired by the
literature and practice of Transformative Innovation Policy, as well as by Systems
Thinking. The Catalan government offers methodological guidance and support for
stakeholders to develop Shared Agendas and, through RIS3CAT 2030, supports the
transformative initiatives emerging from them.

In a nutshell, the first step for a Shared Agenda is to devise a shared vision of the
future aligned with the SDGs; secondly, it must arrive at a shared diagnosis of the
problems and limitations of the current socio-technical system; this second step allows
the Shared Agenda to identify opportunities and solutions emerging from the
transformation being pursued. These opportunities and solutions are then articulated
by identifying initiatives that offer potential solutions to the common challenges through
intersectoral collaboration and the generation of knowledge between diverse actors.
Such solutions require the participation of all actors affected by the challenge,
regardless of their traditional engagement in research and innovation activities. In other
words, in Shared Agendas, it is not sufficient to involve only the research, business and
public sector; citizens and civil society are critical in shaping both the visions and the
path to achieve them.

Shared Agendas aim to identify the solutions and initiatives that have the most
potential to produce positive changes in the local system, with the aspiration of
replicating them on a larger scale, beyond their territory or sector. Indeed, the Shared
Agenda of Lleida, Pyrenees and Aran, which is explored in this document, seeks to
become a benchmark in the field of bioeconomy in Southern Europe.

Needless to say, within this context, consensus-building processes are very slow and
require a lot of work and many meetings, as well as a participatory governance
structure. Within this context, conflict is not avoided, rather, it is recognised and
managed using participatory approaches to navigate the expectations from the diverse
stakeholders. This is done through the definition and implementation of a governance
model that is accepted by all the actors involved in order to translate the vision and
potential transformative actions into actual initiatives. By default, this governance
system is dynamic, flexible and participatory and has the necessary mechanisms in
place to allow all actors to have their say at all times.

Typically, the governance is structured around:

 the strategic committee

 the technical office

RIS3CAT 2030 7
3. RIS3CAT Shared Agendas

 stakeholders’ task forces

At the early stages of development, the strategic committee is composed of the actors
who promote the Shared Agenda. As the agenda grows, the committee’s roles and
functions, as well as its structure and composition, must be defined. The committee
provides the strategic direction and leads efforts to involve and align the actors in the
territory towards the shared future vision.

The technical office facilitates and promotes the active participation of the actors. In
other words, its function is to guarantee the participatory governance model. For this
reason, this role must be assumed by a respected, neutral and trusted body in the
area. The functions of the technical office include, but are not limited to:

 Guiding and coordinating efforts and actions aimed at achieving the shared future
vision.

 Supporting the actions framed in the Agenda.

 Defining and managing the evaluation system focused on learning and adaptation.

 Working toward strengthening the commitment and responsibility of local actors.

 Lobbying political agendas.

 Fundraising.

 Communication.

It is the technical office that practically facilitates the dialogue among stakeholders,
taking responsibility for the complementarities and synergies between the various
elements of the ecosystem by anticipating the needs of the Shared Agenda and being
on the lookout for funding, resources, and investors. To this end, the office must also
be an effective communicator. On the one hand, it must effectively pitch the shared
vision to funding agencies, foundations, and investors in general, as this is key to
gaining external support. On the other, it must also know how to tell the story to keep
up the momentum and engage further stakeholders.

As the diverse actors in the Agenda seek solutions from different perspectives, these
actors are organised into smaller, more focused task forces according to their different
lines of work, expertise and skills. For actors to interact and develop the Shared
Agenda as a whole, it is necessary to have physical spaces for co-creation and
experimentation, where ideas can be shared, explored, developed and tested.

RIS3CAT 2030 8
4. The case of the Shared Agenda of Lleida,
Pyrenees and Aran

4.1. Location

The province of Lleida occupies

38 % of Catalonia’s surface area, yet
it concentrates 6 % of its population,
more than 50 % of its agricultural
production and livestock, and 80% of
its public forest area.

Whilst this wealth of natural capital

provides food and other types of
services to the region as a whole,
the inability to exploit such resources
in a way that generates significant
added value has led to a
progressive loss of population
that threatens the inter-generational
survival of strategic sectors.

In this context, the green transition, if properly steered, could provide an opportunity to
reverse local challenges, and this is precisely the approach pursued by the Shared
Agenda of Lleida, Pyrenees and Aran.

4.2. The origin

The origin of the agenda, in 2018, was a pilot project promoted by eight municipalities
and funded by a European Social Fund (ESF) call. The project (BIOLAB Baix Segre)
allowed the municipalities to identify the circular bioeconomy as an opportunity
to develop responses to the problems generated by an intensive model of livestock
production. At the same time, it initiated a process of reflection and exploration that
introduced new dynamics to the region. Indeed, promoting an economic transformation
that can reverse depopulation and create added value for the local area whilst
addressing environmental challenges is a complex endeavour that requires a long-term
systemic vision and the complicity of many actors. The Diputació de Lleida (the
government of the Lleida province) stepped up to the challenge and, in 2019, assumed
the leadership of the initiative, which expanded its geographical scope and saw it
renamed BIOLAB Ponent. At this stage, the initiative had also received funding from
an ERDF call, within the scope of RIS3CAT 2014-2020, and in collaboration with the
Generalitat, conceptualised what ultimately became the Shared Agenda.

RIS3CAT 2030 9
4. The case of the Shared Agenda of Lleida, Pyrenees and Aran

4.3. The governance

The governance system of this Agenda is dynamic, flexible, participatory, and adapted
to the needs of its territorial scope. It is structured in a strategic committee,1 a technical
office, working groups, and specific mechanisms to make collective action effective in
such an extensive geographical territory.

The Agenda has made it possible to build a shared vision of the future that has
facilitated the identification of seven priority areas. This prioritisation has, in turn,
allowed the articulation of working groups and the collaborative definition of actions
that address specific problems for each area. Stakeholders are directly involved
articulating the problem and the solution. To date, the agenda has promoted more than
forty actions focused on change, which have mobilised more than 10 million euro from
several different sources. Box 1 below summarises the governance and structure
of this Shared Agenda.

Box 1. Shared Agenda of Lleida, Pyrenees and Aran in a snapshot

Vision
We wish for our geographical area to become a territory that values our strategic
geolocation and endogenous resources, capacities and potentialities in order to
develop, in fair and smart terms, a competitive and sustainable green, circular, highly
digitised economic model. Our objective is to reinforce existing and emerging
strategic sectors by endowing our region with infrastructures and services to generate
prosperity and well-being whilst retaining and attracting people and talent,
simultaneously contributing to the sustainable development goals that European
institutions promote.

Priority Areas
 Agricultural bioeconomy
 Agri-food value chains
 Forest bioeconomy
 Digitisation
 Sustainable energy
 Sustainable and intelligent tourism

1The strategic committee comprises the Province of Lleida, the municipality of Lleida, the
Generalitat of Catalonia, the Chambers of Commerce of Lleida and Tàrrega, and the University
of Lleida PIMEC, COELL, UGT and CCOO.

RIS3CAT 2030 10
4. The case of the Shared Agenda of Lleida, Pyrenees and Aran

 Climate resilience and urban regeneration

Flagship Initiatives
 BIOHUB CAT: Service centre for the effective development of the circular
bioeconomy
 CIDAF CAT: Digital Innovation Centre of the Agroforestry Sector
 Energy and Local World: Empowering local authorities to tackle energy transitions
proactively.

Transversal Principles
 Smart transformation
 Just transformation

Governance
Strategic Committee – Technical Office for Transformation – Working Groups

Figure 2. Priority Areas of the Shared Agenda

Agricultural Digitisation Forest Sustainable

bioeconomy bioeconomy energy

Agri-food Sustainable and Climate resilience and

Value chains smart tourism urban regeneration

RIS3CAT 2030 11
4. The case of the Shared Agenda of Lleida, Pyrenees and Aran

4.4. Synergies in the Shared Agenda through the BIOHUB CAT

In order to explore how synergies are emerging and being managed within this Shared
Agenda, we will focus on one of its initiatives: BIOHUB CAT.

BIOHUB CAT is a flagship initiative of the Shared Agenda of Lleida, Pyrenees and
Aran, which centres around developing a complete Bioeconomy Hub, providing public-
private infrastructure, a space and services for the development of new business
models and entrepreneurial impetus and acceleration for the circular bioeconomy.2

The BIOHUB CAT initiative seeks to re-integrate waste from the primary and food
industry sector into value-added activities, such as the production of new ingredients
for human and animal nutrition, biofertilisers, biofuels, biomaterials, bioplastics and
bioenergies, thereby creating qualified jobs, which, in turn, would make it possible
to retain and capture talent, thereby combatting depopulation.

BIOHUB CAT has the following specific objectives:

 To promote services for entrepreneurship and innovation and reduce the risks
associated with circular bioeconomy business models.

 To create the conditions for attracting bioindustries and improving the

competitiveness of existing ones.

 To bring together the actors in the RDTI system and orientate them towards
resolving the challenges faced by companies.

 To encourage public and private demand and services linked to the circular
bioeconomy model.

 To contribute to the definition, implementation and validation of public support

policies and instruments.

To foster alliances with the main European references.

Within BIOHUB CAT, a set of thirteen lines of action, summarised in Figure 3,

has been identified and articulated with stakeholders.

Each of the initiatives is, in turn, articulated into a set of components which, together,
move the territory closer to the vision set up by the Shared Agenda, creating a
framework that allows BIOHUB CAT to seek and exploit synergies between different
funding sources, including the ERDF, ESF and Next Generation EU, Horizon Europe
and other municipal and national funds.

2The initiative is now formally recognised as a priority in Catalonia’s 2030 Bio-Economic

strategy and the Catalan National Pact for Industry.

RIS3CAT 2030 12
4. The case of the Shared Agenda of Lleida, Pyrenees and Aran

Figure 3. BIOHUBCAT main lines of action

In other words, BIOHUB CAT provides a platform to promote initiatives in the field
of agricultural bioeconomy, financed by various ERDF and ESF calls, as well as
national and EC-managed programmes. The different funding opportunities contribute
to generating technological infrastructure, pilot plants, laboratories and skills that
support the transition towards sustainability, identifying new value chains and business
models, as exemplified in the case of BIOHUB CAT Tech and BIOHUB CAT Services
below.

4.5. Synergies in the BIOHUB CAT Tech

Within BIOHUB CAT, the BIOHUB CAT Tech initiative centres around developing
of a public-private pre-industrial plant to validate biotechnologies and bioproducts.
This plant is seen as essential to upgrading the local research and innovation eco-
system, which currently lacks activities and infrastructure for TRLs levels 7 to 9.
Indeed, BIOHUB Cat Tech will provide industrial testing facilities to local and non-local
firms at TRL level 7, thereby generating high-value employment and economic activity
whilst supporting the transition to sustainability. To achieve this goal, the European

RIS3CAT 2030 13
4. The case of the Shared Agenda of Lleida, Pyrenees and Aran

Social Fund was used to carry out a set of scoping and peer-learning trips and
exercises to better understand the value chains that could potentially be relevant in the
territory and develop a benchmark study for its ambitions.3 Once the scene setting
analysis had been conducted, it was possible to map the local bioprocessing
capacities, defining the processes, dimensions and technologies required to build the
pre-industrial plant, as well as the sustainable business models needed to operate it.
This mapping was supported through the PECT scheme, financed by the ERDF under
the RIS3CAT umbrella.4 Once solid technical and business models were in place,
it was possible to obtain funds from the Next Generation EU Recovery and Resilience
Plan to kick off the execution of the plant (which is now expected to be completed in
2025), developing a biogas plant, as a first component of the full pre-industrial plant.

The Shared Agenda has now reached a significant level of maturity: the territory
is positioning itself in the global bioeconomy arena. Indeed, negotiations are currently
taking place with both private and public actors to raise approximately 10 million euro
in order to finalise the plant and start its operations by 2026.

Figure 4. Synergies in BIO HUB CAT Tech

Technological
Scoping, Scoping, plans and
definition of Pre-industrial plant development
analysis, peer- analysis,
learning peer-learning business 2026 public and private
models investments, ERDF
2020 ESF 2020 ESF
2023 NGEU

4.6. Synergies in the BioHub CAT Business Services

The BioHub CAT Business Services initiative aims to provide a complete range of
services for firms operating in the sustainable bioeconomy sector. In order to identify
and articulate the types of services to be offered, a set of studies were conducted to
define consumer trends, circular production and business models, as well as to take
stock of local current capacity and potential. These analytical activities were partly
funded through the ERDF under the leadership of different stakeholders (namely the
regional Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives and the Diputació de Lleida) and partly
through special agreements with the regional and national governments.

Following this first analytical step, the BIOHUB CAT Business Services initiative has
engaged in a set of pilot projects to experiment and gain first-hand knowledge of
relevant business services. These pilots include:

3The ESF programme offered grants and subsidies for initiatives aimed at reactivating the local
economy and revitalising the territories, improving quality of life and well-being.
4 In the period 2014-2020, the PECT calls allowed consortia of municipalities and stakeholders
to coordinate and develop initiatives responding to local needs through RDTI activities.

RIS3CAT 2030 14
4. The case of the Shared Agenda of Lleida, Pyrenees and Aran

 adapting the carbon footprint certification methodology to the scale of a livestock

farm (ISO 14067);

 promoting new production models identified in southern Lleida;

 promoting private-public business models for forest management and water

regulation;

 promoting new production models identified in northern Lleida.

The pilots are being financed through the ERDF and provincial funds, as well as
through an agreement with the Spanish Ministry for Ecological Transition and the
Demographic Challenge (Ministerio para la Transición Ecologica y el Reto
Demografico) and an Agreement with the Regional Government.

The Shared Agenda has in turn attracted funds and resources from Horizon Europe
(HE), such as the BioBoost project and the Mainstream BIO project. Both projects
originated outside the Shared Agenda and outside the territory of Lleida, yet converged
in the BIOHUB CAT initiative, as the latter provided a fertile avenue for their objectives.
The BioBoost project is aimed at creating a bioeconomy accelerator and providing
advisory services to reduce risk in bioeconomy projects. BioBoost is currently providing
services to local farmers and SMEs in Lleida as part of its own implementation.
Similarly, Mainstream BIO, which aims to define sustainable business model pathways
aligned to regional potentials and policy initiatives, is supporting local firms and
stakeholders within Lleida. In other words, local stakeholders are benefiting from
knowledge spill-overs and services, thanks to the leverage of the Shared Agenda.

Altogether, these activities, complemented by further support from the Catalan

Government, will converge to create a clear definition of the business services to be
provided within BIOHUB CAT.

Figure 5. Synergies in BIO HUB Cat Services

Analytical BioBoost and Mainstream Final definition of

Bio Pilot projects to
activities to business services
understand test and
Definition of business needs understand and kick-off of
business and creation of business provision 2025
business solutions
challenges accelerator Catalan
2023-2025 ERDF Government
2022 ERDF 2022-2025 Horizon Europe

RIS3CAT 2030 15
5. Conclusions

This brief paper has showcased the approach to synergies pursued within RIS3CAT
2030. The Catalan Smart Specialisation Strategy is based on Shared Agendas,
through which the different territories mobilise their stakeholders to address common
challenges aligned with the SDGs. Shared Agendas are deeply rooted in stakeholders’
participation, trust and commitment. They orient the territory towards its transformation
through participatory processes, identifying and developing complementary initiatives
and roadmaps. The participatory governance, articulated through the technical office,
supports the pursuit of the different initiatives under the umbrella of the Agenda. A
natural outcome of this set-up, as shown by the Shared Agenda of Lleida, the
Pyrenees and Aran, is that synergies between funds and actors emerge and are
sustained.

The two examples provided in this document showcase how the opportunities offered
by the ERDF can be strengthened through initiatives financed by EU, regional and
national funds, aligning them to a common transformative objective. Interestingly, the
knowledge acquired throughout the development of the Shared Agenda is such that
private funds are now being mobilised, and initiatives originally conceived beyond the
territory (such as the aforementioned Horizon Europe project) are now being integrated
into it.

RIS3CAT 2030 16