Universities as Regional Innovation Systems for the Circular Bioeconomy
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: U.S. land-grant universities, with their campus departments, regional research centers, and county extension offices, play a unique role in promoting innovation in the circular bioeconomy. We examine various public–private R&D partnerships being undertaken by the University of Arizona to evaluate university roles in agricultural innovation. This study adapts Pray and Birner’s International Bioeconomy Innovation System (IBIS) framework to analyze regional innovation systems. The framework assesses systems in terms of the Public Research and Education Domain, Business Domain, Bridging Institutions, Demand for Innovations, Policies and Regulations, and Socio-cultural Factors. The framework is applied to projects including rural STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) training, vertical farming, aquaponics, microbial algae production, and food production in outer space. Projects emphasized introducing circularity in water-scarce production systems, reflecting regional resource scarcity. Supply chains are not linear with a single industry putting wastes to use in its own internal production. Rather, circularity means the creation of value webs where production processes span multiple value chains. This means introducing circularity is not just a bioengineering problem but also a marketing problem. Rural areas in Arizona face a bioeconomy workforce development dilemma where STEM-adept students tend to leave rural areas, while prospective employers may not locate in rural areas because of the lack of STEM-trained workers. A new federal-university program aims to break this cycle. Many of the case studies introduced circularity to meet environmental compliance goals or reduce carbon emissions. Greater consistency regarding climate change policy could bolster future bioeconomy development.
Source: Bioresources and Bioproducts
Institutions: University of Arizona, Oregon State University
Language: English
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7220454060