Bioeconomy Governance Approaches and Solutions: A Systematic Review and Configurative Meta-Synthesis

Bioeconomy has become an increasingly important concept for sustainable development. However, given its inherently complex nature across sectors, its governance remains complex. Currently, bioeconomy governance literature is fragmented across sectors and policy domains. The study aims to analyse bioeconomy governance solutions across the literature. The study employs a systematic literature review, following the PRISMA guidelines and configurative meta-synthesis, analysing 114 studies. The study descriptively determines trends and evolution of the bioeconomy, while for good governance criteria, accountability, transparency, participation, effectiveness/efficiency, equity/fairness, and conflict management are applied as the analytical tool for the meta-synthesis. The descriptive findings show that Europe is predominantly studied, and a persistent disciplinary concentration is in forest-related bioeconomy research. Hybrid and multi-level governance approaches were suggested as the best governance approach across the domain. The meta-synthesis identifies collaboration, policy coherence, political support, stakeholder engagement, transparent information, innovation support, and fair benefit distribution as key solutions for bioeconomy governance. However, these governance solutions in themselves require careful organisation to minimise conflicts, align sectoral objectives, and ensure inclusive decision-making. The study concludes that bioeconomy governance solutions are highly interdependent and that no single good-governance criterion can operate effectively in isolation.