Circular hubs – International peer experts meet up in Umeå

Our head of project Samir Halomanovic participated in a peer expert meet up “ DEVELOPING A WELL FUNCTIONING CIRCULAR HUB – A CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE” in Umeå. The purpose was to collaborate, share knowledge and contribute to policy development of establishing a circular hub within City of Umeå including a Center Of Excellence (CoE).

The other invited peer experts are:

• Pipsa Juulia Salolammi – Founding member of Helsinki-Uusimaa Circular economy hub, Finland
• Dirk Plees – Province of Limburg, the Netherlands, Chemelot Circular Hub
• Clyde Falzon Bouvett – Environment and Resources Authority Malta
• Dr Beata Kviatek, Jean Monnet Chair in Sustainable EU Economy, Hanze University Groningen, The Netherlands

Our contribution was to share the approach of Cirkulär Utvecklingshubb’s way of capacity building within a multi helix collaboration, strategies for long-term cooperation with stakeholders and describing their needs related to circular economy.

Examples of themed discussions during the meet up was:

• Vision and strategic objectives for the CoE – What do we want to achieve? Who needs to be on board?
• Roles, responsibilities and governance arrangements between the triple helix-partners – How should we work together?
• Financing and policy alignment – How can we ensure the long-term sustainability of the CoE ?

“Attending the recent peer review hosted by the City of Umeå and Interreg Europe Policy Learning Platform was an opportunity to share experiences from the Circulär Utvecklinghubb related to circular innovation and contribute to the recommendations for developing a circular hub within the framework of City of Umeå and its Eco Industrial Park. Personally, the review provided an open and honest dialogue as well as a peek into a number of initiatives taking place within Europe that are tackling the challenges and opportunities of circular economy and innovation.” /Samir Halimanovic, IUC Syd

An important and inspiring take away for us is the different stories of how participating peer’s circular hubs have been established and the role of importance the industry has had in their development.

We are looking forward to keep contributing and learning together with this community.

Learn more:

UNLOCK | Peer Review in Umeå: Advancing Circular Innovation | Interreg Europe

Swedish Network for Industrial and Urban Symbiosis