Page 130 - Biorefinery 2030 Future Prospects for the Bioeconomy (2015)

98 4 Prospects for the Bazancourt-Pomacle Biorefinery Between Now and 2030

To answer the question we need to ask what functions the current governance
structure does not fulfil and that need to be fulfilled to take advantage of future
projections.

6.1 Networking, Strategic Monitoring and Strategic Decision-
Making Tools

As the other chapters reveal, there are now three layers of actors at the IEB. The first
layer is made up of professionals on site: plant managers and their staff, ARD
researchers, the operators of the pilot and demonstration units and Chair-holders
with their staff (when they come together on site in September 2015). Parent-
organisation management teams make up a second layer: the management teams
of cooperatives, schools and pilot scheme partners, together with their boards of
directors. Outlying actors make up the third layer: local village communities, local
authorities, the State and representatives of local people. There is currently a lack of
mechanism to share information, monitoring and strategy discussion between these
three layers of stakeholders. A small part of this coordination could be managed by
the Bohan Foundation, for example. Other, not necessarily formal mechanisms
could take the form of the much more social mechanisms mentioned earlier in the
context of “promiscuity” together with support mechanisms that the CEBB could
manage.

6.2 Technology Transfer and Exploitation of Knowledge
and Skills

The transfer function already exists in certain major schools and universities. It is
designed essentially to exploit the patents and licences developed by their
researchers. In the case of IEB, there are opportunities for the creation of resources
centres (databases or technical expertise), test centre activities in certain fields,
executive training and high-level services (second opinions, technical-commercial
assessment of technologies, risk surveys). It will also support incubator projects and
carry out traditional activities to promote and obtain financial returns on the shared
assets of the IEB. These functions could cover upstream activities linked to the
experimental farm, if necessary, and downstream activities for the Parc des
Sohettes extension.

6.3 Financial Engineering

This section may surprise some people: venture capitalists and banks are accessible,
given the quality of the projects usually proposed by Bazancourt-Pomacle actors
and the fact that consultants are ready to step in. Until now, this has never been a
problem. However, several reasons may be put forward for the fulfilment of this