A-AAGORA launches three online tutorials dedicated to innovation processes on coastal restoration

The A-AAgora project has released three concise online tutorials, now available on its YouTube platform, as part of an online training programme currently under development, set to launch in the first half of 2026.

Providing effective training is a key objective of the project, as knowledge-sharing plays a crucial role in enhancing societal learning and raising awareness about the value and functioning of coastal systems, which, in turn, fosters engagement in climate adaptation, nature restoration, and coastal protection efforts.
To introduce the project’s main themes, three brief tutorials have been created on the following topics: Introduction to Living Labs.

The Policy Context for Restoration;
Innovation models & Deliberative Democracy;
Introduction to Living Labs.

1. The Policy Context for Restoration

This brief tutorial focuses on providing an overview of the European and International policy frameworks for biodiversity restoration, as well as the key challenges in reaching the proposed targets.

Since the need for restoration is urgent, but the problematics are too extensive to be delt only by local or national authorities, international policies arise as a form of international cooperation.

There are three main paths to achieve international policies:

Through global cooperation, where most of the countries of the world reach an agreement;
Through the union of blocks of countries, which is the case of the EU policies;
Through bi-lateral cooperation, involving two countries.

On a global scale, there’s The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework which commits all the countries of the world to protect 30% of land and sea by 2030, and to halt and reverse the trends of biodiversity loss by 2050. There’re also more general policies such as the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, with Goal 14 and Goal 15 particularly focusing on the conservation and sustainable use of marine and terrestrial ecosystems.

The EU Strategy for 2030 commits to the same targets and adds a 10% strict protection target.

The EU has also several other policies related to restoration, such as: (i) a new Nature Restoration Regulation which commits the countries to restore 20% of all degraded habitats by 2030 and all of them by 2050; and (ii) European directives such as the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, the Habitats Directive, the Birds Directive, the Water Framework Directive and many others.

When analysing the progresses reached so far, one can identify that there is still a long path to achieve some of these goals by the time proposed.

To be able to reach the objectives established, there’s a need for greater involvement of people, authorities and different stakeholders to effectively implement all these policies across a larger area and to upscale restoration initiatives.

2. Innovation models & Deliberative Democracy

It became clear that the solutions to reverse the biodiversity losses that science has reached so far are not enough – which means that innovative approaches need to be explored.

Innovating, however, is a complex goal that needs to have a strategic implementation plan. Researchers have been diving into this subject for years, and different innovation models have emerged.

These models are called “Helix Models” where each Helix represents one strand of society that should be involved in developing innovations.

The triple Helix Model was the first Helix Model, which included the three main actors: (i) academia/research, (ii) the State, with its regulations, and (iii) industry/businesses.

In the triple Helix Model the innovations emerge through universities or research institutions providing new knowledge which is then operationalised into products and services by the businesses, and the State provides a regulatory framework and often funding.

This model, however, have been criticised for being too simplistic.

The Quadruple Helix Model then divided the State Helix into two different strands: the State and society, recognising the role of the latter in the innovation process.

When created, this model took society as a participant in the innovation process through the discussion promoted by the emergence of mass media. However, the Quadruple Helix Model has developed and started to admit for the first time the active involvement of citizens, recognising them as end-users of any innovation and starting to involve them in the design itself of the innovations. The Quadruple Helix Model expands the Triplex Helix Model by incorporating deliberative and participative democratic approaches.

The final and current model in use is the Quintuple Helix Model, which adds a natural environment around the Helixes, acknowledging that natural environment will impact the innovations that are being developed but also that the innovations are impacting the environment.

This model bridges the gap between a knowledge economy (supported by the T riple Helix), a knowledge society (supported by the Quadruple Helix), also incorporating considerations of social ecology, society-nature interactions and socio-ecological transitions.

While these concepts are theoretical, the challenge lies in how we can operationalise them effectively.

3. Introduction to Living Labs

In contemporary societies, it has been identified disinterest on the democratic processes, especially among young people.

Some literature suggests that the way forward is through more playful, interactive and open-ended engagement processes where people are involved and engaged and can directly see the effects of their engagement in real life.

There are different ways to put this in practice, one of these ways being the Living Labs.

Living Labs can be linked to quadruple or Quintuple Helix Models to develop innovations. They act as innovation intermediaries and are a way of engaging participants in the process, developing solutions with them, testing with them and then evaluating the whole process.

Living Labs should be:
– user-centred;
– participatory;
– focused on the principles of co-design, co-creation, co-development, co-testing, and co-implementation.