On 17 February 2025, the FUTURE4PRIMA Enabling Innovation Ecosystem Stakeholder Board (F4P-EIESB) officially launched its activities with a successful online kick-off meeting. The event brought together its members for the first time, a diverse group of experts, policymakers, and industry leaders, marking a significant step towards strengthening innovation ecosystems across the Mediterranean region.

The F4P-EIESB has been established as an advisory body under the FUTURE4PRIMA (F4P) project, with the mission to accelerate the uptake of research and innovation (R&I) to the market and support the development of a thriving innovation ecosystem in the Mediterranean region.

 
F4P, is a Horizon Europe-funded initiative, which aims to strengthen PRIMA’s impact by enhancing cooperation, knowledge valorisation, and innovation uptake across Mediterranean countries. The Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area (PRIMA) is the largest Euro-Mediterranean research programme, supporting projects that address food security, water management, and sustainable agriculture.

 
The meeting provided a platform to outline the board’s role in shaping policy recommendations, fostering industry-academia collaboration, and defining impact pathways for PRIMA-funded projects.
A key moment of the event was the election of the Chair Roger Albinyana, IEMe and Deputy Chair Mr Nicolas Farhat, Berytech, who will lead the board’s efforts in the coming years.

During the session, attendees also reviewed the 2025 outlook, which includes planned activities, stakeholder engagement strategies, and upcoming workshops. The discussion laid the foundation for a co-creational roadmapping process, ensuring that knowledge valorisation and innovation diffusion remain central to the broader PRIMA framework.

The kick-off meeting set a strong precedent for collaboration, enabling experts from various sectors to contribute towards a more resilient, sustainable, and innovation-driven Mediterranean region. With clear objectives, structured guidance, and a shared vision, the F4P-EIESB is now poised to transform research insights into real-world solutions for both society and the market.