Survey on students’ perceptions of bioeconomy entrepreneurship

Bioregions Facility on November 8, 2022

Ensuring the success of the EU Green Deal requires information about how the public understands different bioeconomy solutions. To understand the viewpoints of young citizens and future professionals, our team at EFI’s Bioregions Facility has developed a survey on students’ perceptions and attitudes towards bioeconomy and entrepreneurship.

The Bioeconomy Perceptions Survey targeted at students is an important tool to help regions learn more about their own bioeconomy ecosystem. It aims to provide insights into how students of higher education perceive the role of entrepreneurship in the field of bioeconomy, as well as related opportunities and challenges.

Are you a student? – Participate now in the Survey!

Everyone has a role to play in reducing environmental impacts: from the private sector, to governments, international organisations, and even individual consumers, our choices can help propel the transition to more sustainable systems. Share your voice to help shape the future of sustainable development in your region!

By filling in this survey on bioeconomy perceptions, you can enter into a competition to win a EFI wood-based t-shirt. Follow the registration link that is unlocked upon completing the survey! The survey is open until 16.2.2023.

Do you work at a higher education institution? – Launch the survey now in your higher education institution!

Bioregions Facility will provide the survey link along with an invitation letter for easy deployment. All you have to do is inviting the students in your study programme or educational institution to participate in the survey. High-level researchers at the European Forest Institute will analyse the survey results and deliver a European-wide final report.

For questions or to launch the survey in your higher education institution, write an email to venla.wallius[@]efi.int.

Survey target outcomes

  • Understand students’ perceptions of bioeconomy and entrepreneurship
  • Get insights on the available training and support for entrepreneurship at educational institutions
  • Engage universities into the forest bioeconomy discussions and open up new collaboration opportunities

Bioeconomy perceptions of government and industry: a cross-regional comparison

Bioregions Facility on July 4, 2022

Bioeconomy perceptions survey

The Bioregions Facility’s initiative Regional Bioeconomy Perceptions Survey, is scaling up with the Survey launched in five regions and the plan to launch the Survey in five more regions by the end of the year.

On 15 June 2022, at the ERIAFF Annual Conference, the Facility presented the Survey initiative and a cross-regional comparison of the results from four regions: North Karelia (Finland); North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany); Tuscany (Italy); and Castilla y León (Spain). This presentation has now been recorded and is available to watch to obtain an introduction to the Survey!

Does it sound interesting to asses how government and industry perceive the bioeconomy in your region? Would it be valuable to understand which bioeconomy sectors are perceived to have the highest potential for growth in your region? Do you want to get insights on improving collaboration with government and industry? The survey aims to achieve these target outcomes, among others.

Bioeconomy perceptions survey

Watch the presentation to understand better how the survey process works and the results that can be achieved.

government and industry bioeconomy perceptions survey
EFI junior expert Siebe Briers presents the survey’s goals and objectives.

Sections of the video:
0 min – Introduction
1:08 min – About the survey and process
5:13 min – Structure of the survey to six target outcomes
5:54 min – Results
22:37 min – Key objectives
24:15 min – Closing

Bioeconomy perceptions in North Karelia

Bioregions Facility on June 8, 2022

The Bioregions Facility launched its Bioeconomy Perceptions Regional Survey in North Karelia in the period September-November 2021 in the local language, Finnish. The Survey was targeted at different groups within government and industry, to understand how they perceive the bioeconomy, its benefits, and its challenges. More specifically, the Survey aims at achieving six target outcomes: i) understand how business and policy actors perceive the bioeconomy; ii) revisit value chain priorities and related communication efforts; iii) identify barriers & supporting conditions; iv) assess “willingness to engage” with the bioeconomy; v) get insights on how to improve collaboration with government & industry and; vi) find key leverage points for bioeconomy development by identifying overlaps with other policy areas. Here we present six key highlights, one per target outcome, of the Survey in North Karelia.

  • Respondents generally perceived bioeconomy as promising, and specifically to address environmental challenges. Respondents see the contribution to energy transition, and to a low-carbon economy, as the most relevant positive impact of the bioeconomy.
  • North Karelia business and policy actors suggest that nature-based tourism, bioenergy and wood construction are the bioeconomy sectors with highest potential for growth in North Karelia.
  • Limited co-operation among different stakeholders (policy, business, etc.) is perceived as the most important barrier for bioeconomy development. Several supporting conditions were rated in between important and extremely important, namely investment in innovation, availability of scientific information, public procurement programmes and adequate regulation.
  • Both government and industry respondents indicated that their sector or department is willing to develop the bioeconomy.
  • Government and industry respondents felt very similar about who is responsible for different tasks in moving the bioeconomy in North Karelia forward. Both groups indicated that they are equally responsible for investments in research, development, and innovation and for ensuring positive environmental and social impacts. In addition, both groups emphasised that the government is more responsible in communicating and promoting the bioeconomy among the general public.
  • According to respondents, bioeconomy has strong goal alignment with environment related policy areas, especially climate change mitigation and clean energy. Other policy areas with very high overlap with bioeconomy are biodiversity conservation, circular economy, and rural development. Bioeconomy was considered to have less goal alignment with social and economic policy areas.
Read the report
Read key results