Lessons Learned for Marine Biotechnology

A

• Add marine biotech in school, programmes to ensure that the general public becomes familiar with marine biotechnologies;
• Assign participants to a specific table according to gender, type of organization/institution, type of expertise in the field, main interest in general to ensure multi-disciplinarity;

B

• Be aware that policy-makers are not easy to attract to a workshop unless they know the organiser personally;
• Build a network to report challenges to politicians to put marine biotechnologies on the national agenda as an economic and sustainable opportunity;

C

• Carefully consider the workshop's duration as many participants think that a one day-long workshop is too long;
• Carry the project with "Ambassadors" or " figures" at a regional level (navigators, high-level sportsman, divers, swimmer);
• Collect and share information and good practices to raise awareness on marine biotech and to reduce marine pollution;
• Connect all stakeholders through education and communication;
• Consider ethics when dealing with the legal frameworks to assure marine biotech sustainability and social awareness;
• Consider the distinction between the actions of making information available and the actions of making the information understandable by its potential users when dealing with Open Access;
• Convince investors to facilitate the creation of a dynamic knowledge-sharing mechanism;
• Coordinate and develop industrial, academic and political linkages to boost funding around marine biotech;
• Create an award the best Blue (bio)technologies innovation or product to make maritime biotech a sustainable economic opportunity;
• Create funding mechanisms to promote RRI in research and innovation in the specific sector;
• Create of a one-stop shop for the Institute of (Bio) Blue Technologies with short and long-term strategies;
• Create training programs targeting SMEs and investors by focusing on enablers and barriers;

D

• Develop a "Social and Solidarity Economy" type of framework in the field of marine biotechnologies;
• Develop new collaborations for new means of communication;
• Develop new mode of governance for marine biotechnology development including the engagement of the society;
• Develop new tools and infrastructures of research on marine resources, particularly in inaccessible depths, but also for monitoring the marine environment, stocks of biomass or still unwanted algae;

E

• Education is necessary for marine biotechnology development thus the need for developing university educational programmes on marine biotechnology;
• Encourage scientists and NGOs to popularize the different aspects of marine biotechnology through science café, forums, open days etc.;
• Ensure that all voices have an equal footing in the debate during the workshop;
• Exchange with star chefs on new products from the transformation of marine resources to provide the opportunity to sensibilize a wider audience;

F

• Facilitate collaboration between fundamental research and industry/market to create a dynamic knowledge-sharing mechanism;
• Focus on the concept and its tools when explaining RRI to participants;
• Foster collaboration among companies in the Marine Biotech value chain and social and environmental actors;
• Foster stakeholder engagement, capacity building, behavioral changes and production, and consumption pattern shift with Science education;

G

• Get media cover and social media presence to influence policy and decision makers;

H

• Have a business and industry professionals consider producing socially and environmentally acceptable marine bio-based goods and services;
• Help the participants with examples to understand how to embed RRI principles when discussing a sector and societal challenges;

I

• Implement training and guidance for careers around marine biotechnologies to reduce marine pollution;
• Involve senior/retired scientific experts to communicate on marine biotech in layman's terms to ensure that the general public becomes familiar with the topic;

L

• Learn about participatory methods and how to use them;

M

• Make an inventory of innovations and tools, and facilitate collaboration and networking for the development of biotechnologies in France;
• Make lists of actions and players, record skills, know-how, and economic potential, identify best practices and make full use of them to put marine biotechnologies on the national agenda;
• Multiply events where researchers from academia and industry exchange with a broader community to enhance this community and its visibility;

O

• Organise a European "Grenelle" of Marine Bioethic to do an inventory of knowledge, regulations and current projects and processes as well as to define indicators and good practices for the development of marine biotechs;
• Organise Open Days in companies to ensure that the general public becomes familiar with marine biotechnologies;
• Organize of a Marine biotech day at the regional level including different actors to make the general public aware on the marine biotechnology sector and its potential;

P

• Promote researchers qualifications to find new bio applications for products answering societal needs;
• Promote the involvement of public authorities on local, national and European levels;
• Promote the reinforcement of policies and the adoption of coherent legislative frameworks to develop Marine Biotechnology;
• Push for cooperation among academic institutions and the industry as it is crucial;
• Put in place a certification label of projects to draw guidelines for the sustainable development of marine biotechs;

R

• Raise awareness among pupils and students about environmental protection through informational programs as well as promote the specific sector as a means of employability;
• Raise awareness among the general public to make informed choices and have an active social participation;
• Raise awareness and spread information about marine biotechnologies to the different groups of stakeholders;
• Realize a complete inventory of local skills on marine biotech of academic actors, start-ups or companies already established in the region;

S

• Sensibilize restaurants and the public about the potential offered by the blue biotech;
• Start a regional programme and raise awareness of tourism actors to ensure that the general public becomes familiar with marine biotechnologies;
• Start a survey to establish the relationship between local communities and the coastal areas and share results with politicians to put marine biotechnologies on the national agenda as an economic and sustainable opportunity;
• Start planning at least 4 months in advance the organisation of a workshop as it is a very time-consuming task;
• Such workshop make participants convinced about RRI, but doesn't tend to help them in the concrete application of RRI in their daily work;

T

• The greater majority of actions relate to more than one RRI dimension; this shows that actions are multidisciplinary and involve multiple stakeholders;
• There is a serious need for regulations and legislation about the release of bacteria at sea;
• To develop a sector, develop a legal framework to promote and regulate the development of the specific sector;
• Train and convince policymakers, implementers, and investors to develop biotechnologies;
• Train educators and information relays on marine biotechnologies to develop them in the field of marine pollution;
• Train policymakers through communication tools and adapt legislation to facilitate the creation of a dynamic knowledge-sharing mechanism;

U

• Use Open access to boost innovation and increase the use of scientific results by all societal actors as well as to develop public trust and engagement;

See also...

Marine Sector