The main goal of BlueBio the first 18 months was to implement the cofunded call. It was launched on 17 December 2018 and was announced in European and national platforms. An electronic submission tool was established for applicants. A brokerage event was held in Oslo on 30 January 2019. Participants were informed about the call and could meet potential partners through matchmaking sessions. The event was streamed online to enable remote participants to interact. Eligibility, evaluation and selections schemes endorsed by the Call Steering Committee were set up for the two-stage call process. A total of 83 pre-proposals were received, of which 66 were eligible and passed to evaluation. Following this, 35 pre-proposals were invited to submit full proposals. In the end, 19 projects were selected. An Independent Observer attested that the process was in conformity with the principles set out by the EC for ERA-NET Cofunds. Because of COVID-19, several of the projects were granted a postponement of the original deadline to start (1 June 2020). This means that the projects are starting in the period 1 January to 1 September 2020. Key performance indicators for the follow-up of the projects have been developed. An Independent Ethics Advisor has assessed the ethical risks with the projects and will follow up the projects. On 9 June 2020 a kick-off meeting for the cofunded projects was held, online because of COVID-19. The event allowed the projects to get to know each other and start internal collaboration. Coordinators and funding organisations could communicate their expectations and clarify uncertainties. Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI), Human Capacity Building, including training and mobility exchange have been emphasised. The kick-off meeting included an RRI seminar, open also for external participants. Four Value Chain Supervisors (VCS) are appointed to oversee that the sectorial and value chain approach is balanced when implementing calls and other activities. They will also contribute to the collaboration with the private sector to identify specific opportunities, as well as to create connectivity between funded projects and other relevant ongoing projects to stimulate synergies between projects and industries along the value chain. The coordinator has established a management structure for the overall legal, contractual, financial and administrative issues, and internal communication. For operational issues, it involves the Executive Team that is comprised of all work package leaders and the VCS, and the coordinator supported by a team at the Research Council of Norway (and the JPI Oceans Secretariat. Monthly online partner meetings have been held in addition to the formal consortium meetings. A BlueBio communication plan, a visual identity and a website, including a partners-only website have been developed and social media accounts have been established. BlueBio partners have updated and expanded the project database of cooperation in fisheries, aquaculture, seafood processing and marine biotech, originally developed within the COFASP ERA-NET. It is available at
http://www.projectsdatabase.cofasp.eu/