Report on the collection and analysis of information on research projects - 2

The present report refers on the results of a series of exploratory analyses aimed to describe the information contained in the BlueBio research projects’ database. The BlueBio database is built on the basis of the COFASP research projects’ database implemented with the inclusion of the research projects dealing on Marine Biotechnology and the projects funded in the time period 2014-2022. Therefore, in the overall, the database spans a total time period of 19 years (2003-2022). The migration to BlueBio Database has needed a harmonization of the projects’ categorization in agreement with the inclusion of “Marine Biotechnology” as a further main category. This has required: 1. an overall and careful review of all projects included in the COFASP database; the review has also allowed to check the information previously collected and to find out additional information which had been missed as well as to better harmonize funding sources and programmes; 2. an integration of the keywords list; and 3. a development of the Search Area Interface of the online database. This report represents a follow-up to the report produced in July 2021 (MS 7.21), which contained an analysis of the projects funded up until 2019. Since then, the database has been further enhanced by adding projects related to the years 2020-2022, as well as finalizing the harmonization of the data to achieve a more detailed and accurate allocation of projects. The analysis has been performed on a total of 3761 projects which were already on-going or started from 2003 to 2022. The funding information is available for 2837 projects, corresponding to 75/% of the total. The projects have been analyzed in terms of research categories, marine areas and countries involved, funding programmes and funding budget. They have been divided into 15 research categories that include 4 main categories, and 11 cross-cutting categories, resulting from the combination of the main ones. The assignment of projects to the various categories has been based on the keywords associated with each of them. Considering the starting date of the projects contained in the database, it appears that most of them were initiated in the period 2004-2013. Aquaculture, Fisheries, and Aquaculture & Marine Biotechnology are the only categories to be consistently addressed without any interruption. However, while projects dealing with Aquaculture and Fisheries were already running before 2000, those related to Aquaculture & Marine Biotechnology started in 2001. Fisheries is the most investigated research field, accounting for 35% of the overall projects contained in the database. It is followed by Aquaculture (23%) and Aquaculture & Marine Biotechnology (12%). All the other categories appear poorly represented, comprising at most 6% (Seafood Processing) of the projects’ universe of the database. The ratio in number of projects between each main category and its overall related categories (main category + cross-cuttings) is lower for Marine Biotechnology in respect to the others, highlighting that this thematic is usually investigated in association with other research fields rather than alone. From a financial point of view, the category Fisheries, which includes the highest number of projects, has also the highest budget, corresponding to 23% of the overall budget over the entire period. It is followed by Aquaculture (23%), Aquaculture & Fisheries (14%), and Aquaculture & Marine Biotechnology (13%), while none of the remaining categories exceed 9%. In the overall, it appears that 63% of the projects with available budget information have been implemented with national funds, 22% with European funds, and 13% have been co-financed by European and national funds. The number of projects implemented with financial contributions from consortia of countries, international organizations, agencies, or programs not relying on EU funds has been negligible. In terms of funding amount, instead, the overall budget of the projects supported by EU funds through FP5-7, H2020, LIFE, COST, and Interreg programmes, as well as other instruments directly managed by the EC, corresponds to 52% of the total amount of financial resources for the entire period. The budget of those projects implemented within national programmes accounts for 36%, and the budget of projects co-financed by European and national funds (e.g., BONUS programme, national programmes supported by ESIF) amounts to 11%. On average, the projects having a budget > 500k € represent around 90% of the overall budget and 50% of the total number of projects within each research category. Norway is the country dealing with the highest number of projects (51%) followed by Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom, which however participated in a far lower number of projects. Norway has also funded 59% of the overall projects supported by national programmes, corresponding to 40% of the total number of projects included in the Database. Moreover, subdividing the projects by country, funding source and funding category (< 100k €, 100-500k €, > 500k €) it results that the Norwegian national projects with a budget > 500k € overcome the highest number of projects in all combinations by country/funding source/funding category. Italy, the United Kingdom, Spain and Norway have coordinated a similar number of projects supported by European funds and having a budget higher than 500k €. The analysis of abstracts and keywords associated with the projects in the different research categories has allowed for the identification of the most relevant research gaps and the evaluation of the extent to which the research priorities established for 2050 by the Foresight exercise implemented under BlueBio Cofund have been addressed up to now. This demonstrates that having an overview of already funded projects can be helpful for funders and researchers to avoid duplications and better address the R&I gaps and needs. The Bluebio database is publicly available for consultation through a dedicated WebGIS application accessible on the BlueBio website (https://bluebioeconomy.eu/) and through the publication on Figshare repository with an accompanying open-access datapaper. In order to further increase the visibility of the database and ensure its longevity, it has been incorporated into the WaveLinks platform developed by the EU Mission ‘Restore Our Ocean and Waters by 2030’ CSA PREP4BLUE, one of the five missions launched by the European Commission as a major contributor to the European Green Deal, the UN Decade of Ocean Science, and the Sustainable Development Goals.