Bioeconomy evidence review on growth opportunities

1. The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSR.C) and the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) wish to commission a project that will provide an evidence base on the UK bioeconomy. The outputs from this project will enable an evidence-based understanding of the opportunity the bioeconomy presents to the UK, and the prospect for growth and increased productivity. It will also outline the role Government is currently undertaking in realising this. Furthermore, the intention is that the dataset produced through the project will be published for use as an evidence base by stakeholders. 2. The bioeconomy is becoming an area of increasing focus for UK Government. The European Commission estimates that the EU bioeconomy (including agriculture and food) already has a turnover of nearly €2 trillion and employs more than 22 million people, 9% of total employment in the EU. As such the UK bioeconomy presents a unique opportunity to promote economic growth and increase productivity, build UK based supply chains and boost exports. It also encourages the transition towards a low carbon economy through increased take up of bioenergy and biofuels and increased use of biowaste and alternative feedstocks, e.g. to produce speciality chemicals, plastics and other high-value products, as part of the circular economy. 3. A number of Government departments, the Research Councils, Innovate UK, Devolved Administrations and other agencies are engaged in securing a strong bioeconomy for the UK, as evidenced by the significant levels of publicly funded research investment made collectively by these organisations which underpins the UK bioeconomy. The direct bioeconomy is estimated to contribute over £36 billion gross value added to the total UK economy. 4. The evidence base on the bioeconomy available to UK Government and its stakeholders is not comprehensive and does not provide a holistic picture of the UK’s standing internationally. This is a barrier to understanding the size and nature of the economic opportunity the UK bioeconomy presents. 5. In order to better understand the opportunity presented by the UK bioeconomy, this tender seeks to contract organisation(s) that can run an evidence review on the UK bioeconomy, to inform an assessment of the extent of the opportunity the bioeconomy presents to the UK, the prospect for growth and greater productivity, and the role Government is undertaking in realising this. 6. The outputs of the study will be used to raise Ministerial interest in the bioeconomy, through highlighting the size and nature of the opportunity in this area and the role Government is currently fulfilling in realising this. The report will also be used as a source of evidence to support in assessing where public intervention could help industry realise the ‘high-value’ growth potential which would not be achieved otherwise.