BioAgora’s consortium meeting: a productive exchange between project partners

BioAgora’s Consortium Assembly meeting was held on 21 March 2023. This was the third consortium meeting of the project after the initial online Kick-off in July 2022, and the in-person meeting in Helsinki, Finland in November 2022. 

BioAgora’s work package leaders presented their achievements, including submitted deliverables, a progress update on ongoing tasks and upcoming work. They also had a constructive discussion about the future links the project will create for maximum visibility and impact of the Science Service for Biodiversity (SSBD).

Among many other activities, work package 1 presented a complex framework for testing the potential of the SSBD and how the different tasks and work packages intertwine in its implementation. The framework identified how the various tasks support each other in realising BioAgora’s vision for a platform that enables policymakers to find scientific evidence relative to their policy questions.

Furthermore, the project partners got to know the External Advisory Board (EAB). The EAB consists of representatives from key European institutions in the realm of biodiversity: 

• Biodiversa+
• European Geosciences Union (EGU)
• Bridging for Sustainability
• German Environment Agency (UBA) 
• Ministry of Environment of Finland
• University of Twente (UT)
• European Environment Agency (EEA)
• UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH)
• Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE)
• Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ)
• Euronovia 

Their role is to provide views and opinions as an external body, share their experiences with other Science-Policy-Society Interfaces (SPIs), as well as provide strategic advice on BioAgora’s progress and key outputs. 

Finally, the Consortium Assembly approved the amended Consortium Agreement and decided on the  location of the next project meeting to be held in October Leipzig, Germany, and hosted by the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ).