On 4 March 2025, Technopolis Group helped organise the 3rd Annual Mission Ocean and Waters Forum in Brussels. As part of EU Ocean and Waters Week, this was the opportune moment to bring together Mission projects, pilot initiatives and other EU research projects and stakeholders involved in the EU Mission ‘Restore our Ocean and Waters’ (Mission Ocean and Waters). It was also the second time Technopolis helped organise the event, which gave us some perspective on Mission achievements and progress in the broader EU research & innovation (R&I) policy context.
The Mission Ocean and Waters is one of 5 EU Missions under the Horizon Europe programme. Through R&I, the Missions set out to tackle pressing societal challenges. Whether or not you are familiar with the Missions, you will not be surprised that Mission-oriented policies, projects and initiatives are ambitious by design. Launched in 2021, the Mission Ocean and Waters has set lofty targets to restore the health of our oceans and waters by 2030 (which is not so far away!).
These targets align with three broad objectives:
- Protect and restore marine and freshwater ecosystems and biodiversity, in line with EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030
- Prevent and eliminate pollution of our ocean, seas and waters, in line with the EU Action Plan Towards Zero Pollution for Air, Water and Soil
- Make the sustainable blue economy carbon-neutral and circular, in line with the proposed European Climate Law and the holistic vision enshrined in the Sustainable Blue Economy Strategy
Is this vision too ambitious, the scope too expansive? Since 2019, Technopolis Group has been conducting studies and evaluations related to the Missions and the Horizon Europe programme. In fact, our baseline studies in the Mediterranean, Baltic and North Sea, Atlantic and Arctic and Danube contributed directly to the design and implementation of the Mission lighthouses. Through this work, we have seen the potential power for knowledge exchange, community building and stakeholder engagement to achieve the Mission’s ambitions.
In the following sections, this piece explores the role of community building through two projects related to the Mission Ocean and Waters. One focuses primarily on engaging the research community through a dedicated coordination portal as well as a call for applications aimed at new audiences working on Mission-related topics. The other looks beyond the Mission ecosystem to broader stakeholder and public communication campaigns.
Finding synergies and solutions across the research community
Currently, Technopolis Group runs the Mission Implementation Platform (MIP), which supports the Mission Secretariat and the Mission Ocean in achieving its objectives to restore our oceans and water. The MIP is poised to play a significant role in the up taking of the most promising solutions by identifying communities that could benefit most and actors that could upscale and replicate solutions. In addition to the MIP, much of what we do, provide and offer to the Mission Community, as well as what we promote, is available on the Mission Ocean and Waters Service Portal. In this role, we facilitate the onboarding of projects into the Mission, supporting them with communication materials and activities.
We are also involved in the collection of Mission-oriented ‘solutions’ in the Mission Solutions Library. So far, the Library has around 300 innovative solutions. To get a sense of the type of solutions, in aquaculture advancements, the ASTRAL project is leveraging AI and biosensors for sustainable aquaculture. CLIMAREST’s Dive Reporter app is a technical innovation in marine science that crowdsources biodiversity data from recreational scuba divers. Platforms from the Sea Watchers project and Spot the Jellyfish foster citizen science. Additionally, the Blueprint for “Zero Plastic Pollution” in the Mediterranean Islands outlines seven strategies to scale up solutions, including promoting plastic reuse, refining waste management practices, and enacting new regulations to eliminate plastic pollution in vulnerable regions. The list goes on, but suffice it to say, these solutions cover multiple domains.
We also aim to connect the wider Mission community through the Mission Ocean Charter, which is a non-binding, open pledge to co-design, propose and implement policies, programmes or initiatives contributing to Mission objectives. So far, the Charter has been signed by +800 organisations.
Finally, in coordination with the Mission Secretariat, Technopolis has developed a system of indicators to monitor the progress of the Mission’s implementation. The monitoring framework will continue to be developed, and indicators from the European Environmental Agency will enhance this system to capture advancements across impact pathways related to the Mission’s objectives.
Engaging communities beyond the Mission projects
While innovative projects and scientific breakthroughs are critical, more open and broader access is needed to tools, services and best practices to secure the health of our ocean and waters.
The Commission recently launched two Calls for Expression of Interest and related Technical Assistance. Applicants came from one of the three target communities: ports, fisheries, islands. Ultimately 19 projects, from 11 EU countries, have been selected through the first call. More on the specific projects can be found here.
To further boost the reach of the expression of interest, Technopolis launched a social media campaign on LinkedIn and META on the occasion of World Water Day. The audience was specific and tactical: the desired application profiles for the call (i.e. ports, islands, fisheriesacross 27 EU Member States). The campaign covered two cycles, reaching over 5 M people across all 27 EU Member States, in all local languages. By the end of the campaign, the Commission had received 50 applications for the first call from a mix of European countries.
Navigating future tides
While the 3rd Annual Mission Ocean and Waters Forum was a moment to celebrate milestones, it is also another step towards continued progress. If we look back to the initial question of this article: Are the EU Missions too ambitious or too expansive? The EU Missions set lofty goals and involve a complex array of stakeholders, but this does not mean that they should be written off. There is a need to streamline and accelerate cross-sector and cross-board knowledge-sharing to help drive Mission objectives. Our work with different stakeholders involved in Mission Ocean and Waters sheds insight on the need for building a community with – and beyond – the innovative projects and researchers who lead them.
Stay tuned for updates on our Mission-related work on Technopolis Group’s website. While waiting for next year’s forum, there are plenty of opportunities coming up, such as the Ocean Pact, and events like UNOC (June 2025).
Technopolis Group has built a strong track record examining these questions in Mission Ocean and Water-related projects as well as feasibility and baseline studies for the European Commission’s Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA), DG Research and Innovation (DG RTD) and DG for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE).
