What are the goals of the research project and what research approaches have you chosen to achieve them?

To promote their bioeconomy, countries around the world have adopted bioeconomy strategies. However, little to no research has been done on whether and how these strategies are implemented. This is the gap that the junior research group BIOPOLISTA aims to fill. Specifically, we want to know to what extent, when and why the implementation of bioeconomy strategies and their instruments succeeds or fails. To this end, the project combines policy analysis approaches with the concept of the bioeconomy state as well as qualitative comparative methods to explain different patterns of policy implementation within and across six country case studies.

What is behind the concept of the bioeconomy state and how do you plan to use this in your research?

States are the driving force in policy implementation and thus in existing approaches to policy implementation research. We define the bioeconomy state as one that has a variety of institutions and practices dedicated to the governance of its bioeconomy and the interactions between the bioeconomy and society. Of particular relevance are the four dimensions of the bioeconomy state: regulatory, administrative, discursive, and authoritative. These, in conjunction with state characteristics (for example, a country’s political system) and contextual factors at the national and international level (for example, transnational trade agreements), influence the implementation of the instruments of bioeconomy strategies.