Context

The starting point of BERRY+ is circular economy as a driver for growth, investments and exports. We consider renewable natural resources scarce goods. We aim on maximising the value bound to them as much as possible in the economy, and in the process to generate sustainable growth for the partner-regions. Interregional complementarities identified through value chain analysis will support partner regions’ industrial development, path the way for long term collaboration, joint development and accelerate the transfer to a competitive circular economy.

Year established: 2020

Mission

Three main challenges:

1. To turn value chains (VC) into effective development and growth tools and part of regional policy.
2. To link VC methodologies to the strengths (productive, technological, demand) of specific industrial domains inthe partner areas, to embed he process at regional and interregional levels.
3. To encourage interregional exchanges essentially linked to the VC-based development model.

BERRY+ supports excellence-based processing of renewable natural resources and their side streams by (i) selectively exploring renewable natural resource & sideflows research-based opportunities; (ii) accessing strong consumer markets; (iii) investing in and developing new specialisation paths & breaking away from lock-ins; (iv) confronting enterprise challenges related to value chains and upgrading them accordingly. Implementing these contributes to industrial modernisation based on circular economy solutions and digital transformation applications as part of value chains.

Objectives

1. To reach interregional investments & integrate partner regions’ innovations into existing and / or emerging European Value Chains (EVC).
2. To establish and register with the ECCP an interregional cluster as a way for constructing added value at regional and interregional levels in the long run.
3. To maximise coherence between regional and interregional initiatives and investments.
4. Learning.

• Grasping commercial opportunities, including substitution of VC elements with better products.
• Design, development, and testing (DDT) investments.
• Research-based product & product line development/ additional research priorities.
• Optimal localisation of industries aiming at added value in-and re- shoring of VCs in the regions.
• Ensuring horizontal compliance to related Directives & adoption of standards;
• Learning and scaling up interregionally the production process, joint applications of data analytics and Industry 4.0 solutions when needed.

Shared smart specialisation areas

1. Circular economy (forest industry side streams value chain, dairy industry side streams value chain, renewable and recylcable textiles value chain)
2. Functional ingredients of natural resources (including anti aging and regenerative cosmetics value chain, plant-based proteins value chain).

Some overlaps might happen, e.g. dairy industry side streams value chain & functional ingredients.

Tags

Circular economy; Functional ingredients of natural resources; value chains; interregional innovation interemdiaries.

Regions (lead and partner)

• Leading regions: Kainuu (FI), Western Macedonia (EL), Helsinki-Uusimaa (FI).
• Participating regions: Attica (EL), Catalonia (ES), Centro (PT), Friuli-Venezia Giulia (IT), Lombardy (IT), Malopolska (PL), Western Greece (EL), Lapland (FI).
• Associated partner: Goriska (SI)

Organisations involved

• Regional Council of Kainuu (FI)
• University of Oulu (FI)
• Regional Council of Helsinki-Uusimaa (FI)
• Region of Western Greece (GR)
• Region of Western Macedonia (GR)
• ANKO (GR)
• Friuli Venezia Giulia Region (IT)
• Friuli Venezia Giulia Parco Agroalimentare (IT)
• Region of Lombardy (IT)
• Reindustria (IT)
• ACCIÓ (ES)
• Centro Region (PT)
• Agricultural University of Athens (GR)
• Malopoloska Region (PL)
• Regional Council of Lapland (FI)
• Lapland Universioty of Applied Sciences (FI)
• Cluster of cheesemakers of Western Macedonia (GR)
• Forest Institute (PT)
• Beauty Cluster (ES)

Related projects

• BRIDGES Project: The BERRY+ S3 partnership implements Action 2 of the Kainuu region BRIDGES action plan. It builds on the BRIDGES project experience from interregional collaborative schemes based on RIS3 complementarities and the corresponding research, knowledge, and economic bases of the participating regions. (https://projects2014-2020.interregeurope.eu/bridges/)
• We have submitted one I3 strand 2b proposal.
• We are working on small bilateral pilots based on Structural Funds flexibility, testing a model we made to link regional initiatives (in shoring) with interregional initiatives.
• We hope to submit the Interreg Europe proposal under the 3rd call.
• We are considering the Innovation Valleys / Innovation Ecosystem calls.

Contact

• BERRY+ OVERALL LEADERSHIP & COORDINATION

Jouni Ponnikas, Regional Council of Kainuu; jouni.ponnikas@kainuunliitto.fi, +358 40 574 0804.

• COMPONENT 1 VALUE CHAINS, overall coordination, BP1:

Ninetta Chaniotou, University of Oulu, ninetta.chaniotou@oulu.fi, +358 50 4026921
Jarkko Räty, University of Oulu, jarkko.raty@oulu.fi, +358 40 839 7353

• VC ACTIVATION RESPONSIBILITIES:
• VC1, Anti ageing and collaborative cosmetics: Lombardia & Malopolska
• VC2, Dairy industry sidestreams: Athens university if Agriculture
• VC3, Forest Industry sidestreams: University of Oulu
• VC4, Functional ingredients of natural resources: Regional Council of Lapland and Friuli Venezia Giulia (FABFVG)
• VC5, Renewable and recyclable textiles: University of Oulu/MITY  (Regional Council of Helsinki-Uusimaa for project generation)
• COMPONENT 2 INTERREGIONAL INNOVATION INTERMEDIARY & COMPONENT 4 INTERREGIONAL GOVERNANCE

Ninetta Chaniotou, University of Oulu, ninetta.chaniotou@oulu.fi, +358 50 4026921.

• COMPONENT 3 LINKING GOVERNANCE LEVELS, BP2

Ari Lainevuo, Regional Council of Helsinki-Uusimaa,  ari.lainevuo@uudenmaanliitto.fi, +358 50 363 1657.

• COMPONENT 5 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT, BP4

Anastasios Sidiropoulos (Αναστάσιος Σιδηρόπουλος), ANKO SA,  t.sidiropoulos@anko.gr, +30 697 4146316.

Latest news and upcoming events

We are planning a meeting in FVG during mid autumn 2023.

We are organising bilateral meetings and seeting up small scale pilots aligned with different value chains.

Other relevant information

We have been using the option provided to us by the Interreg Europe programme and the BRIDGES project which, during its 3rd phase, addressed systematically value chains (VC), and some of them are also part of the BERRY+ priorities (forest industry side streams, dairy industry sidestreams, and reneweable & recyclable textiles. This option allows to keep an on going dialogue in connection to value chains and regional policies for example.

The combined BERRY+ partnership & BRIDGES project have been of foundational importance for identifying solutions, policy & VC activation approaches, and looking deeper into the 'funding sources' problematique. We now have tools to operationalise VCs in regional policy, focus & activate VCs, and co-fund interregional complementarities beyond "EU projects". We are currently i)testing our insights with small scale value chain - based pilots and ii) developing the interregional innovation intermediary. We expect concrete results in the next 6 months.