Work Package 2

Circular Economy Research Benchmarking

Identifying and diffusing best practices on how AI can transform and accelerate HEIs' research in natural sciences and engineering to produce circular economy inventions.

M1-M25 (March 2025 - April 2027) Lead: TUHH Partners: TUHH, FTS-UNS, USC
WP2

About This Work Package

WP2 aims to identify and diffuse best practices on how AI can transform and accelerate HEIs' research in natural sciences and engineering to produce circular economy inventions. This work package is divided into four key tasks to ensure a thorough and systematic approach to benchmarking and disseminating best practices in AI-driven circular economy research.

Tasks Breakdown

T2.1

Data-driven Best-Practice Identification

M1-M6 (March 2025 - September 2025)

Leveraging comprehensive scientific databases such as OpenAlex and SciSciNet, the project will filter the global knowledge base in natural sciences and engineering to identify research that effectively uses AI for circular economy purposes. The results will be visualized as an interactive map, which will allow HEIs and individual researchers to easily locate relevant best practices based on their specific research focus and proximity.

T2.2

Best-Practice Curation

M4-M9 (July 2025 - December 2025)

Curation of best practices in accessible and engaging formats. To ensure that researchers can fully benefit from the identified best practices, these will be made available in multiple formats, including audio/video summaries, blog posts, and newsletters. This multimodal approach aims to cater to diverse learning preferences and to enhance the accessibility of the information.

T2.3

Validation of Best-Practice Recommendations

M10-M18 (January 2026 - September 2026)

Centers on the validation of the recommended formats for sharing best practices. By interviewing individual researchers and research groups, the project will assess which formats are most effective for different audiences. This feedback will be crucial for refining how best practices are communicated and ensuring that they are presented in a way that maximizes their utility.

T2.4

Community-of-Best-Practice-Exchange

M16-M25 (July 2026 - April 2027)

Aims to establish a community of researchers engaged in exchanging knowledge about current AI applications in circular economy research. This community will serve as a platform for regular interactions, enabling researchers to discuss how AI could be further leveraged in their ongoing projects. By fostering these discussions, the project aims to create a collaborative environment that encourages continuous learning and innovation in circular economy research using AI.

Milestones & Deliverables

Milestone 2

Best-Research-Practice Sharing-Platform

A digital best-research-practice sharing-platform is established at each HEI.

M9 (December 2025)
Deliverable 2.1

Best-Research Practices Identified

A documented repository with the reproducible data and analysis pipeline; interactive map and set of best-practice research papers relevant for each participating HEI project partner.

M6 (September 2025) - Lead: TUHH
Deliverable 2.2

Best-Research Practices Curated

A technical guide to produce different formats to consume best research practices.

M9 (December 2025) - Lead: USC
Deliverable 2.3

Best-Research Practices Validated

A detailed report with the interview procedure, results and implications for each HEI.

M18 (September 2026) - Lead: USC
Milestone 6

Community of Best-Research-Practice Sharing

Communities of best-research-practice sharing established with initial evidence of traction.

M18 (September 2026)
Deliverable 2.4

Communities-of-Best-Practice Exchange

An interim and final report about procedures to institutionalize such CoPs and measures of success from each HEI.

M18/M25 (September 2026, April 2027) - Lead: USC

Contributing Partners

TUHH

Lead Partner

FTS-UNS

Partner

USC

Partner