RIBES Hosts Online Capacity-Building Training to Advance Regional Bioeconomy Governance
December 2025
The RIBES project has successfully delivered an online capacity-building training focused on strengthening regional governance approaches for the transition towards a circular bioeconomy.
The training took place on 3 December 2025 and was organised by BIOCOM, the lead partner of Work Package 4 (WP4), with support from the University of Hohenheim (UHOH). Representatives from all ten RIBES regions participated, including members of the Multi-Actor Transformative Forums and regional project partners responsible for implementing upcoming regional co-development workshops.
Designed as a train-the-trainer session, the event aimed to ensure a shared methodological understanding ahead of the next phase of WP4 activities.
Preparing regions for co-development workshops
The primary objective of the training was to equip participants with the knowledge, methods, and tools required to design and facilitate regional co-development workshops scheduled between December 2025 and January 2026. These workshops constitute a core activity of WP4 and will engage a broad range of regional stakeholders in the co-creation of regional roadmaps for the transition towards a circular bioeconomy.
The roadmaps are expected to establish a shared understanding of regional transformation pathways, identify key challenges and opportunities, and define priority actions, partnerships, and governance solutions. They will ultimately form the analytical basis for the development of ten regionally adapted governance toolkits under the RIBES project.
Introducing the Theory of Change approach
A central component of the training was the introduction of the Theory of Change (ToC) methodology, which will be applied consistently across all RIBES regions. The ToC offers a structured yet flexible framework to jointly map long-term impacts, intermediate outcomes, concrete activities, required inputs, underlying assumptions, and indicators.
Rather than being presented as a fixed plan, the ToC was framed as a shared narrative and visual tool that supports reflection, coordination, and learning among diverse regional actors. Participants received detailed methodological guidance on how to adapt the ToC to their specific regional contexts while maintaining a common analytical logic across the project.
To support implementation, the facilitators demonstrated a digital ToC board developed specifically for RIBES, based on the web-based application Excalidraw. The interactive tool enables regions to co-create visual change pathways during workshops or digitally document discussions based on analogue inputs such as flipcharts or written notes.
External expertise from BIO2REG
The training was further enriched by an external contribution from Denise Gider, Coordinator of the Horizon Europe project BIO2REG. Her presentation introduced the BIO2REG Regionalization Concept, which provides a practical blueprint for developing circular bioeconomy model regions through a systemic and place-based approach.
The concept emphasises the integration of governance structures, innovation ecosystems, stakeholder participation, skills development, environmental sustainability, and policy frameworks, while recognising different levels of regional maturity and the need for tailored strategies reflecting local strengths and challenges.
Building on BIO2REG’s policy work, Denise Gider highlighted the importance of robust and adaptive governance for successful regional bioeconomy transitions. Key recommendations included strengthening policy coherence across governance levels, embedding governance functions within regional transition offices, investing in stakeholder engagement and capacity building, promoting public–private partnerships, and embedding continuous learning and monitoring within governance arrangements.
Open discussion and key takeaways
The training featured extensive discussion, allowing participants to raise concerns and clarify expectations. Key topics included maintaining a strong focus on governance within the ToC process, balancing industrial bioeconomy perspectives with rural development needs, and building on previous analytical work conducted within the RIBES project.
Participants also discussed practical considerations such as time constraints, workshop organisation during the holiday period, and the role of indicators. The facilitators clarified that regional ToCs should be understood as living documents, capable of informing future strategies beyond the project’s lifetime.
Next steps for RIBES regions
Following the training, RIBES regions are expected to adapt the ToC board to their regional context, organise inclusive co-development workshops, and jointly develop a regional ToC accompanied by a narrative description. The results will be documented using a standardised back-reporting template to ensure consistency and comparability across regions.
These outputs will feed into WP4’s cross-regional analysis and support the development of innovative governance toolkits that foster inclusive, place-based, and socially driven bioeconomy transitions.
By combining methodological guidance, practical tools, and external expertise, the capacity-building training marked an important milestone for RIBES, strengthening collaboration, empowering regional actors, and laying the groundwork for fair and inclusive governance solutions across Europe’s diverse regions.