Demonstration hubs

Aim

Widening countries (WC) Malta, Greece, Cyprus, and Bulgaria depend heavily on nature for food security, tourism, and economic development, with sectors like nature-based tourism and the blue economy contributing significantly to employment. 

The 4 Demonstration Pilots in Widening Countries deliver practical, scalable solutions to climate and biodiversity challenges, acting as collaboration hubs between academic and non-academic sectors. These hubs provide secondees with real-world experience and foster partnerships across sectors.

These Mediterranean countries are more vulnerable to climate change and have higher warming rates compared to the global average of +1.3°C since the pre-industrial baseline (Berkeley Earth, berkeleyearth.org) and face a range of challenges in innovation. Most notably, low R&D spending and limited government support for business R&D are exacerbated in the environmental and sustainability sectors.

Historically, these areas have received less attention than traditional economic sectors. Without targeted efforts to foster R&I, these countries risk falling further behind in their sustainability goals, ultimately affecting their capacity to leverage nature as a key driver of economic growth