Open research Europe最新文献

{"title":"Dimensions, stability, and deformability of DOPC-cholesterol giant unilamellar vesicles formed by droplet transfer.","authors":"Elisa Roberti, Elisa Linda Petrocelli, Dario Cecchi, Stefano Palagi","doi":"10.12688/openreseurope.19149.3","DOIUrl":"10.12688/openreseurope.19149.3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Understanding cell membrane-like lipid bilayers is crucial for studying fundamental biological mechanisms. Giant Unilamellar Vesicles (GUVs) are key tools for this investigation and have applications in both synthetic biology and, more recently, in microrobotics. The effects of cholesterol, a key component of cellular membranes, on synthetic phospholipid membrane models like GUVs are however not fully understood, as they may vary with lipid composition and production method.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We examined the size distribution, temporal stability and deformability of GUVs prepared with the droplet transfer method using different Dioleoylphosphatidylcholine (DOPC) to cholesterol ratios in the oil phase (namely 100:0, 85:15, 71:29, 60:40). Phase-contrast microscopy assessed size and stability, while deformability was tested by loading the GUVs with an aqueous ferrofluid and applying a uniform magnetic field to induce their elongation. Image analysis was conducted using Fiji and a custom Julia script.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The median diameters increased with the content of cholesterol, together with the dimensional distribution. In terms of stability, cholesterol generally reduced GUV median diameter over time, while it varyingly influenced the number of vesicles. As for deformability, beyond the expected elongation dependent on the intensity of the applied magnetic field, there were no statistically significant differences in GUV deformability in the presence or absence of cholesterol.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Our findings suggest that cholesterol can lead to increased average diameter of GUVs made with DOPC through droplet transfer, while varyingly affecting their time-stability and not affecting their deformability. This study shows how small adjustments on a straightforward protocol like the droplet transfer method, provide a simple and effective way of tailoring GUV properties. Edits in the oil phase enable precise tuning of GUV membranes providing a tool for both fundamental studies and applications such as artificial cells or microrobots.</p>","PeriodicalId":74359,"journal":{"name":"Open research Europe","volume":"5 ","pages":"77"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12326166/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144796328","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Logic model-based performance management systems for export promotion agencies.","authors":"Stéphane Ruiz-Coupeau, Juan Manuel Ramon-Jeronimo, Raquel Florez-Lopez","doi":"10.12688/openreseurope.20545.2","DOIUrl":"10.12688/openreseurope.20545.2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Export Promotion Agencies (EPAs) play a crucial role in facilitating the internationalization of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), contributing significantly to economic growth. The complexity of their operations, diversity of services provided, and challenges in attributing outcomes complicate the effective implementation of Performance Management Systems (PMSs).</p><p><strong>Method: </strong>This study investigates how the Logic Model framework can be utilized as a strategic, structured, and flexible tool to design and implement PMSs tailored to the unique operational needs of EPAs. A qualitative, exploratory multiple-case study approach was applied, involving various types of EPAs within Spain-including provincial, regional, national, and a regional EPA belonging to a European network.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The research identifies significant variability in PMS sophistication and logic model adoption across agencies. The Logic Model, emphasizing causal linkages between inputs, activities, outputs, and outcomes, offers EPAs a coherent framework to enhance transparency, accountability, and strategic learning. An extended illustrative case of a European-networked regional EPA highlights best practices in integrating structured client journeys, performance monitoring, and dynamic feedback mechanisms into service delivery.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This research proposes a comprehensive methodology for implementing Logic Model-based PMSs within EPAs, emphasizing stakeholder participation, flexible indicators, systematic service quality evaluation, and continuous adaptive management. By addressing the identified gaps in performance management practices within EPAs, the study contributes to both academic literature and practical guidelines, ultimately supporting the international competitiveness of SMEs and economic development objectives.</p>","PeriodicalId":74359,"journal":{"name":"Open research Europe","volume":"5 ","pages":"212"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12498084/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145246009","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Cod, construction, and communities: Relations between fish and architectural history in Ísafjörður, Iceland.","authors":"André Tavares, Karl Benediktsson, Ana Azevedo, Rafael Sousa Santos, Garðar Eyjólfsson, Michelle Valliant","doi":"10.12688/openreseurope.20177.3","DOIUrl":"10.12688/openreseurope.20177.3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Understanding the interplay between ecological processes and human-built environments is key to addressing the entangled dynamics of marine and terrestrial landscapes, yet these relationships are often studied separately. This paper addresses this issue by exploring the socioecological histories of North Atlantic fishing landscapes, with a focus on Ísafjörður, situated in the Westfjords of Iceland, a critical site in the history of cod ( <i>Gadus morhua</i>) fisheries. It presents the outcomes of a weeklong workshop that explored the connections between urban development and cod populations through three thematic lenses: 1) the urban development of Ísafjörður, 2) the life cycle of cod, and 3) Icelandic fisheries. A range of interdisciplinary methods was applied, including archival photography analysis, historical mapping, cod movement pattern reconstruction, oceanographic data assessment, investigation of vessel technology, and fisheries data analysis. Our findings reveal overlapping timelines that link fish population cycles with patterns of urban growth, highlighting points of convergence where ecological and social dynamics intersect. Visual representation was used as an integrative tool to translate between marine processes and the built environment. By reflecting on the workshop's experiments and achievements, this paper proposes strategies for future research at the intersection of ecology, fisheries, and architecture.</p>","PeriodicalId":74359,"journal":{"name":"Open research Europe","volume":"5 ","pages":"136"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12365596/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144981751","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Encouraging reusability of computational research through Data-to-Knowledge Packages - A hydrological use case.","authors":"Markus Konkol, Astra Labuce, Sami Domisch, Merret Buurman, Vanessa Bremerich","doi":"10.12688/openreseurope.20221.3","DOIUrl":"10.12688/openreseurope.20221.3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The growing demand for reproducible research is based on the expectation that publishing research in this form will enable its reuse and the generation of new knowledge. However, reproducibility alone does not guarantee these benefits. Users still need to make considerable efforts to understand the data and analysis code before they can reuse these components in other contexts. To address this challenge, we introduce the Data-to-Knowledge Package (D2K-Package), a collection of research materials including source code and open FAIR data, virtual labs, web API services, and computational workflows. The D2K-Package's core is the reproducible basis composed of the data and source code on which an analysis is based. This core is designed such that the other components can be derived from it. The main goal of the package is to help researchers generate new knowledge by facilitating the understanding and encouraging the reuse of reproducible research. We demonstrate the applicability of the D2K-Package with a hydrological use case which can be also used for testing, and discuss its seamless integration into the research cycle.</p>","PeriodicalId":74359,"journal":{"name":"Open research Europe","volume":"5 ","pages":"123"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12334915/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144818579","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Theoretical structural study of van der Waals complexes between oxazole and atmospheric gases CO ₂ and N ₂ for capture applications.","authors":"A Belasri, F Tahiri, O Douass, N Inostroza-Pino, M Belmouden, H Bahmann, M Mogren Al-Mogren, M L Senent, S Dalbouha","doi":"10.12688/openreseurope.18925.4","DOIUrl":"10.12688/openreseurope.18925.4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The objective of this study is to explore the potential of Oxazole (Oxa, C ₃H ₃NO), a fascinating heterocyclic compound naturally present, which is a potential ligand in the construction of Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) for the selective capture of CO ₂ in a nitrogen-rich atmosphere, using both molecular and solid-state simulation techniques.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This study investigates the equilibrium structures and binding energies of van der Waals aggregates formed by an Oxazole molecule with nonpolar molecules such as CO ₂ and N ₂, considering both two-body systems (Oxazole-CO ₂ and Owazole-N ₂) and three-body systems (Oxazole-CO ₂-N ₂ and Oxazole-CO ₂/N ₂-Au ₆/Cu ₆/Zn ₃O ₃). Molecular computations for these systems are conducted using ab initio calculations at the MP2/aug-cc-pVXZ level of theory, where X = (D, T). Additionally, solid-state simulations analyze the adsorption behaviors and energies of Oxazole-CO ₂ and Oxazole-N ₂ on metallic surfaces:Au, Cu and ZnO(111) through Monte Carlo methods.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>We find that the Oxazole exhibits more adsorption selectivity for CO ₂ than for N ₂. Adding a second gas to the most stable complexes, Oxazole-CO ₂ and Oxazole-N ₂, the Oxazole capture ability does not vary. On the contrary, it strengthens the adsorption energy of three-body complexes compared to two-body complexes. The addition of metallic clusters (Au ₆, Cu ₆, Zn ₃O ₃) and metallic surfaces (Au, Cu, ZnO) enhances the adsorption capacity, where Cu ₆ is particularly efficient. Both ZnO and Cu surfaces offer significant adsorption advantages while remaining economically feasible.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study demonstrates that Oxazole exhibits a strong selectivity for CO ₂ over N ₂, with the addition of metallic clusters and surfaces significantly enhancing its adsorption capacity. These findings highlight the potential of Oxazole-based materials for effective gas capture and separation, with positive implications for environmental sustainability.</p>","PeriodicalId":74359,"journal":{"name":"Open research Europe","volume":"5 ","pages":"3"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12423626/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145066726","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Towards sustainable 6G: A collaborative call to action for addressing environmental challenges in (and thanks to) future mobile networks.","authors":"Regis Decorme, Sébastien Faye, Monique Calisti, Simon Pryor, Indrakshi Dey, Maria Pia Fanti, Francesco Malandrino, Chiara Lombardo","doi":"10.12688/openreseurope.18767.2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.12688/openreseurope.18767.2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>As mobile networks evolve towards 6G, sustainability must be a central focus to address the environmental impacts of increasing energy consumption and resource use. This open letter highlights insights from the \"Towards Sustainable 6G\" workshop, where seven EU-funded projects - 6G4Society, BeGREEN, COALESCE, IN2CCAM, CENTRIC, 6Green, and 6G-TWIN - showcased innovative solutions for integrating energy efficiency, renewable energy, and ecological resilience into next-generation mobile networks. The projects emphasize AI-driven optimisation, sustainable infrastructure design, and cross-disciplinary collaboration as key strategies for reducing the ecological footprint of 6G systems. A joint statement underscores the necessity of embedding sustainability into 6G design, with follow-up activities planned to advance green telecommunications.</p>","PeriodicalId":74359,"journal":{"name":"Open research Europe","volume":"4 ","pages":"260"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12489451/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145234190","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Refined and benchmarked homemade media for cost-effective, weekend-free human pluripotent stem cell culture.","authors":"Lukasz Truszkowski, Sveva Bottini, Sara Bianchi, Mirko G Scrivano, Giulia Ferrari Ramondo, Linda Belluci, Helen Bell, Silvia Becca, Kirsten E Snijders, Giulia Savorè, Federica Sozza, Irene Ricca, Cristina Rubinetto, Luana Ferrara, Francesco Neri, Andrea Ditadi, Savatore Oliviero, Elisa Balmas, Catherine Elton, Alessandro Bertero","doi":"10.12688/openreseurope.18245.2","DOIUrl":"10.12688/openreseurope.18245.2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Cost-effective, practical, and reproducible culture of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) is required for basic and translational research. Basal 8 (B8) has emerged as a cost-effective solution for weekend-free and chemically-defined hPSC culture. However, the requirement to home-produce some recombinant growth factors for B8 can hinder access and reproducibility. Moreover, we found the published B8 formulation suboptimal in widely-used normoxic hPSC culture. Lastly, the performance of B8 in functional applications such as genome editing or organoid differentiation required systematic evaluation.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We formulated B8 with commercially available, growth factors and adjusted its composition to support normoxic culture of WTC11 human induced pluripotent stem cell line. We compared this formulation (B8+) with commercial Essential 8 (cE8) and a home-made, weekend-free E8 formulation (hE8). We measured pluripotency marker expression and cell cycle by flow cytometry, and investigated the transcriptional profiles by bulk and single-cell RNA sequencing. We further assessed genomic stability, genome editing efficiency, single-cell cloning, and differentiation in both monolayer and organoids. Finally, we validated key findings using male (H1) and female (H9) human embryonic stem cells.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>hE8 performed comparably to cE8 across most functional assays and cell lines. In contrast, cells in B8+ displayed higher NANOG expression and improved genome editing efficiency. At the same time, B8+ led to gene expression changes indicative of marked lineage priming, reflected in altered morphology and differential response to some differentiation protocols. Both weekend-free media resulted in a modest transcriptional shift towards a less metabolically active state, consistent with intermittent media starvation.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Homemade weekend-free media can provide a cost-effective alternative to commercial formulations. hE8, integrating some features of B8 while resembling cE8, emerges as a robust and practical option with limited compromises. B8+, though advantageous in some contexts, warrants caution due to lineage priming effects that may impact differentiation outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":74359,"journal":{"name":"Open research Europe","volume":"4 ","pages":"192"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12488189/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145214736","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"ERGA-BGE genome of the Spanish moon moth  <i>Actias isabellae</i> Graells, 1849: a nocturnal lepidopteran protected by the Habitats Directive.","authors":"Marta Vila, Neus Marí-Mena, Roger Vila, Ana Riesgo, Daniel García-Souto, Carlos Lopez-Vaamonde, Astrid Böhne, Rita Monteiro, Thomas Marcussen, Rebekah Oomen, Torsten Hugo Struck, Marta Gut, Laura Aguilera, Francisco Câmara Ferreira, Fernando Cruz, Jèssica Gómez-Garrido, Tyler S Alioto, Leanne Haggerty, Fergal Martin, Chiara Bortoluzzi","doi":"10.12688/openreseurope.20658.2","DOIUrl":"10.12688/openreseurope.20658.2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>High-quality reference genomes are critical resources for understanding biodiversity and supporting conservation efforts. We present the chromosome-level assembly of the Spanish moon moth, <i>Actias isabellae</i> (Graells, 1849), a nocturnal lepidopteran protected under the EU Habitats Directive. The assembly spans 0.56 Gb across 31 pseudomolecules, including the Z chromosome, with a contig N50 of 18.9 Mb and a scaffold N50 of 20.4 Mb. The mitochondrial genome was also assembled into a 15,247 bp circular sequence. Annotation identified 11,805 protein-coding genes and 2,238 non-coding genes, with a BUSCO completeness of over 94%. Notably, no W chromosome was detected, suggesting a ZZ/Z0 sex determination system. This reference genome provides an essential foundation for studying sex chromosome evolution in Lepidoptera and enables advanced population genomics monitoring of this protected species. More broadly, it contributes to ongoing efforts within the European Reference Genome Atlas and the Earth BioGenome Project to harness genomics for biodiversity conservation.</p>","PeriodicalId":74359,"journal":{"name":"Open research Europe","volume":"5 ","pages":"175"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12457886/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145152319","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Machine learning-based identification of key biotic and abiotic drivers of mineral weathering rate in a complex enhanced weathering experiment.","authors":"Iris Janssens, Thomas Servotte, Tullia Calogiuri, Steven Mortier, Harun Niron, Thomas Corbett, Reinaldy P Poetra, Lukas Rieder, Michiel Van Tendeloo, Abhijeet Singh, Steven Latré, Siegfried E Vlaminck, Jens Hartmann, Jan Willem van Groenigen, Anna Neubeck, Alix Vidal, Ivan A Janssens, Mathilde Hagens, Sara Vicca, Tim Verdonck","doi":"10.12688/openreseurope.19252.3","DOIUrl":"10.12688/openreseurope.19252.3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The optimization of enhanced mineral weathering as a carbon dioxide removal technology requires a comprehensive understanding of what drives mineral weathering. These drivers can be abiotic and biotic and can interact with each other. Therefore, in this study, an extensive 8-week column experiment was set up to investigate 30 potential drivers of mineral weathering simultaneously.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The setup included various combinations of rock types and surface areas, irrigation settings, biochar and organic amendments, along with various biota and biotic products such as earthworms, fungi, bacteria and enzymes; each varying in type or species and quantity. The resulting changes in dissolved, solid, and total inorganic carbon (∆TIC), and total alkalinity were calculated as indicators of carbon dioxide removal through mineral weathering. Three machine learning models, Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO), Random Forest and eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGB) regression, were used to predict these indicators. Dominant drivers of the best performing model were investigated using SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>SHAP analysis revealed that each CDR indicator was influenced by different factors. However, key drivers were consistently abiotic, though biota also made a significant contribution to the predictions. The most representative CDR indicator, ∆TIC, was predominantly driven by steel slag addition and mixed rock grain sizes but was also substantially impacted by earthworms and microbes.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>These findings provide valuable insights into the complex interplay of numerous abiotic and biotic factors that affect mineral weathering, highlighting the potential of machine learning to unravel complex relationships in biogeochemical systems.</p>","PeriodicalId":74359,"journal":{"name":"Open research Europe","volume":"5 ","pages":"71"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12338168/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144823362","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Stakeholder engagement in European research and innovation: An investigation into how and why EU R&I projects develop engagement tools.","authors":"Luka Gudek, Madhura Rao, Jacqueline Broerse","doi":"10.12688/openreseurope.19907.2","DOIUrl":"10.12688/openreseurope.19907.2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The European Union's research and innovation (R&I) efforts have increasingly prioritised collaboration, co-creation, and stakeholder engagement to address complex systemic challenges in recent decades. However, while stakeholder engagement has become a cornerstone of EU innovation policy in this area, there has been limited research into how tools supporting stakeholder engagement are developed, deployed, and sustained within R&I projects. To address this gap, this article explores factors influencing the development of stakeholder engagement tools in European R&I projects and their relation to the broader European R&I trends.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This study adopts a qualitative approach, with conducting semi-structured interviews with 22 participants representing 14 Horizon Europe projects on topics of agri-food, bioeconomy, and sustainability. Data were collected, coded, and analysed concurrently and the emerging results guided which group was approached next.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Tools developed within projects take up shape within distinct phases, denominated as Purpose, Prototyping, Praxis, and Post-project continuity. Each of these phases comes with distinct challenges and opportunities. The way projects approach these challenges and opportunities showcases two distinct approaches that might be indicative of broader project management work in European R&I projects. These are the Project-focused approach and the User-focused approach.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study contributes to the broader discourse on innovation by providing empirical insights into the mechanisms and dynamics of stakeholder engagement tools in R&I projects. It underscores the importance of balancing structural R&I frameworks with flexible, participatory approaches to innovation. The findings offer actionable recommendations for policymakers, project coordinators, and funders to support the development of robust and inclusive stakeholder engagement tools that mobilise diverse actors and facilitate systemic change aligned with the EU's sustainability goals.</p>","PeriodicalId":74359,"journal":{"name":"Open research Europe","volume":"5 ","pages":"107"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12138324/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144236139","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}