Deep Dive II: Identifying Real World Research Challenges in the Blue Economy

About this session

The Baltic Sea region is one of the most intensively studied marine systems in the world -yet many of its core challenges remain unresolved.

This deep dive focuses on a simple but critical question:
What are the unresolved problems in the blue economy that still require research
solutions and potentially provide business opportunities?

Rather than exploring solutions or showcasing innovations, this session concentrates on
cases where efforts across sectors, disciplines, technologies and stakeholders are not
translating into desired outcomes.

Why this matters at A’Pelago

A’Pelago brings together actors from across the blue economy ecosystem: researchers, entrepreneurs, policymakers, investors, and civil society.

Despite this diversity —and ongoing progress —we still encounter persistent challenges
such as:

• nutrient loading and eutrophication in the Baltic Sea
• slow scaling of bio-based innovations
• fragmented data and monitoring systems
• misalignment between policy, markets, and environmental outcomes

What we will do

In this 45-minute session, we will work together to:
- Identify concrete challenges and problems in the blue economy
- Clarify where interactions between actors and technologies fail
- Surface what is not yet understood
- Formulate these into clear, researchable problem statements

The aim is to move quickly from:
“important topic” → well-defined research challenge

How we will work

This is a fast-paced, interactive session:

• You will first reflect individually
• Then work in small groups to select and refine one key problem
• AI will be used briefly to sharpen clarity
• Groups will challenge each other’s thinking
• Finally, we synthesize the results into a small set of shared challenges

The process is intentionally simple, focused, and time-bound.

What you will get out of this
By the end of the session, we will have:What you will get out of this
By the end of the session, we will have:

• A set of 3–5 high-impact, researchable problems grounded in real-world complexity
• A shared understanding of where systems break down in the blue economy
• A strong starting point for future research, collaboration, and funding initiatives

Key principle

We are here to identify the problems that are worth solving—and not yet solved.

A note for participants

This session works best if you:

• bring your practical experience from the field
• focus on what does not work and needs solutions
• are willing to question assumptions and simplify thinking