The project supports the policy dialogue including formal meetings, monitoring and agenda setting, capacity building and implementation of the EU's Western Balkan Agenda, as well as the aligning of thematic priorities. It implements regional pilot activities and upgrades an information hub based on the wbc-rti.info platform. 14 partner organisations, representing network nodes in the region and EU expert organisation, support policy dialogue through ministerial meetings, Steering Platform meetings and ad-hoc policy meetings. They provide analytical evidence via monitoring and mapping activities (of the stakeholder ecosystem, implementation of the Western Balkans Agenda and integration to the European Research Area) and foresight. POLICY ANSWERS also allows for tailored and targeted capacity building activities in the Western Balkans as well as regional alignment in relation to the digital transformation, the green agenda and towards healthy societies. Pilot activities provide learning opportunities on policy and programme level and reach out to final beneficiaries related to improved academia-industry cooperation, researcher mobility, youth, promotion of research infrastructures and increased innovation skills in all areas. The project builds on existing information hubs (for example, wbc-rti.info) and continues services such as regular newsletters, media relations, production of infographics and multimedia content. Special emphasis will be put on the inclusion of underrepresented groups and the coordination with key stakeholders and international organisations.

The New European Bauhaus (NEB) brings the European Green Deal to life through inclusivity, aesthetics, and sustainability, evolving from grassroots efforts to impactful implementation. Central to this is the NEB Facility, which bridges research and innovation (R&I) with roll-out efforts, focusing on local neighbourhoods. NEB4All supports the Facility by strengthening a transnational network of Horizon Europe (HE) and Policy (POL) National Contact Points (NCPs), fostering collaboration, sharing best practices, and empowering NEB NCPs to deliver exceptional support to NEB Facility stakeholders. NEB4All unites 28 NCPs from 25 countries, combining the expertise of experienced and newly appointed members. Through tailored training, mentoring, and peer learning, it enhances NCP capacities, improving stakeholder support, increasing participation in NEB calls, and elevating proposal quality. Key objectives of NEB4All include: (1) Building NCP Capacity: Providing training and tools to align HE and POL NCPs and bridge knowledge gaps. (2) Raising Awareness: Equipping NCPs to engage national stakeholders and promote the NEB Facility effectively. (3) Improving Feedback Mechanisms: Creating systems to collect stakeholder insights and deliver actionable feedback to the European Commission. (4) Supporting Stakeholders: Empowering applicants through matchmaking events and stakeholder meetings. NEB4All lowers barriers to participation for stakeholders like municipalities, companies, researchers (from technical backgrounds and social sciences, humanities and arts), and civil society, fostering connections across the NEB ecosystem. By ensuring high-quality services and gathering actionable feedback, it enhances the NEB Facility’s visibility, accessibility, and impact, driving sustainable innovation and inclusive growth across Europe.

Although Western Balkan countries (WBCs) have improved in terms of R&I performance, research and innovation efforts should be further enhanced for bridging the remaining ‘gap’ with the rest European regions. RRI principles can act as enablers for the sustainable development of the local R&I systems, enhancing the effectiveness of R&I strategies contributing to the advancement of Western Balkan socio-economic progress in a transparent, open, and inclusive way through active participation of all quadruple helix actors. WBC-RRI.NET aims to foster the application of RRI principles at the territorial level in five (5) Western Balkan -4 region-level and 1 country-level- R&I ecosystems and promote a multi-level steering R&I governance framework in the WBCs. RRI principles will act as enablers to the shared learning and diffusion of R&I governance innovations at territorial level, enhancing R&I planning, including S3 Strategies in the WBCs. The project’s approach evolving through an analytical, reflective and implementation thread, will operationally address the 5 WB territories (partners represent all parts of the quadruple helix) and subsequently influence the wider WB region, by activating the embedding of RRI into their R&I ecosystems. This will be realised by RRI activities throughout the entire project (horizontal aspect), raising an active dialogue in the wider WB region and fostering the comprehension of all RRI pillars under a holistic framework based on a ‘smart directionality’ approach, offering stakeholder engagement with a focus on citizen participation. Alongside, 5 RRI ‘anchor’ initiatives (vertical aspect), as interventions touching in-depth specific RRI keys, territorial features and scientific domains, will allow RRI principles to be rooted in the territorial ecosystems leading to concrete impact to R&I territorial policies and societal regional needs. Finally, impact evaluation and dissemination activities focus on the project’s long-term sustainability.