After three successful years, the PREP4BLUE project ended in May 2025. PREP4BLUE was the first project to be funded under EU Mission ‘Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030’ (the Mission) - a visionary initiative which aims to protect and restore the health of our ocean and waters through research and innovation, citizen engagement and blue investments.

PREP4BLUE’s overarching objective was to lay the foundations and facilitate a successful first phase (2022-2025) of the Mission. Through co-development and co-creation with stakeholders, the project delivered a series of communication tools, guidelines, methodologies and recommendations that can be used by Mission funded projects to achieve the Mission objectives and inspire citizens and stakeholders alike.

Across five technical Work Packages, PREP4BLUE delivered a range of resources including:

1. Communications tools and resources to support Mission-funded projects and Mission Charter signatories looking to enhance their digital media skills and storytelling.
2. Innovative tools and resources for planning citizen engagement activities in marine and freshwater projects.
3. Knowledge Management tools and approaches for accelerating the uptake and impact of solutions.
4. Tools for accelerating public and private investment in Mission solutions.
5. Practical tools and resources and resources for driving stakeholder engagement with the Mission.

An overview of the project’s outputs has been captured in a Key Achievements Booklet, which is available on the project website here. The project video can be viewed here.

The tools and resources developed will be of interest to a range of stakeholders including Mission ‘Restore our Ocean and Waters’ project beneficiaries, Charter signatories and anyone working on aquatic research in Europe, policy makers at all levels, industry actors and NGOs.

The resources are free to all and will remain available on the project website (www.prep4blue.eu) after the project has ended. A recording of the project’s Final Conference is accessible here.

For further information or for any questions, please contact the project Press & Communications officer Sarah Sarsfield (sarah@erinn.eu).