Nicosia 2nd Local Mobilisation and Mutual Learning (MML) Workshop
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Executive Summary
The Nicosia 2nd Local Mobilisation and Mutual Learning (MML) Workshop entitled "How may we develop the Marine Biotechnology as a source of local and sustainable economy in Cyprus?" was organized by CNTI and XPRO Consulting Limited (XPRO) in the context of the project MARINA, funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme, on February 21st 2018 in Nicosia. The workshop was hosted by the Water Board of Nicosia.
The workshop is one of the 34 European MMLs that will be conducted by the MARINA project partners all over Europe, as well as the first of the eight international workshops that will be conducted European cities between 2017 and 2018. The goal of the MML workshops is to create common visions, engage stakeholders to decide on common action plans on important marine issues related to the European Blue Growth Strategy, which will be exploited as policy recommendations on a national and European levels. In addition, the results of the workshops will provide input for the roadmap of Responsible Research and Innovation good practice as well as recommendations about embedding the RRI in the policy-making processes. The results will be assembled in a comprehensive report that will be submitted to the Directorate-General for Research and Innovation of the European Commission.
The Nicosia 2nd Local MML workshop brought together eight (8) participants from the public and private sectors, NGOs, citizens and local authorities interested in issues concerning the topic under discussion.
The main conclusions of the workshop were the following:
- The marine biotechnology sector is a complex multidisciplinary field that needs cooperation between public and private societal actors;
- A national strategy and a legal framework are required focusing on enabling businesses through financial and tax incentives to invest in the field of marine biotechnologies.
- A national research center in marine biotechnology and educational programmes at university level is required.
- Creation of funding mechanisms for marine biotechnology through private public partnerships is needed.
- Marine literacy and awareness must be included in school programmes and extended to the wider public through a natural history museum.
- Citizens should participate in decision-making and in monitoring the marine and coastal environmental status.
The Triggering Question (TQ) of the workshop was:
"What Responsible Research and Innovation actions are needed to make marine biotechnology a sustainable source of local economy in Cyprus?"
In response to the TQ, the 8 participants came up with 38 ideas, which were categorized in 8 clusters. Following the voting process, 27 ideas received one or more votes and were structured to create the influence MAP shown below.
According to the participants of this workshop, the ideas that appear to be the most influential were:
- Action #27: (2 votes) Tax incentives (2 votes)
- Action #7: (5 votes) Creation of funding mechanisms for marine biotechnology
- Action #30: (1 vote) Cooperation among academic institutions and the industry
- Action #21: (1 votes) Development of university educational programmes on marine biotechnology
The workshop was facilitated by Yiannis Laouris and Andreas P. Andreou.
Communication Material
Report
