Black Sea CONNECT promoted a shared vision for a productive, healthy, resilient, sustainable, and better-valued Black Sea. The overall objective of the CSA was to coordinate the development of the Black Sea Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) and its Implementation Plan, based on the defined principles in the Burgas Vision Paper and support the development of a sustainable Blue Economy in the Black Sea.

The specific objectives of the Black Sea CONNECT have been as follows:

1. Support the Black Sea Blue Growth Initiative to consolidate and update the SRIA: Black Sea CONNECT finalized and consolidated the SRIA which was updated twice through national consultations carried out in each country. These inputs were consolidated into a second version of the SRIA.
2. Develop the SRIA Implementation Plan: One of the main objectives of the Black Sea CONNECT CSA was to update the SRIA and create a SRIA Implementation Plan based on the key framework conditions to convert SRIA outputs into actions, that will be developed together and with national research funders and key stakeholders concerned. Towards this objective, numerous Black Sea CONNECT stakeholder activities (pilot joint actions, consultations, Innovation Workshop, connecting relevant entities, projects and actors) provided input to the IP. These efforts resulted in the Black Sea SRIA Implementation Plan which is built on the concrete actions defined through CSA activities. The IP also includes mechanisms that will secure the long-term sustainability of the SRIA IP beyond the conclusion of the project.
3. The establishment of an operational network for the Black Sea Region: The CSA was tasked to facilitate cooperation and coordination among the Black Sea countries and the EU to promote the alignment and convergence of national research and innovation activities and relevant initiatives and investments. This is achieved by launching an ONF in 2022 that includes marine and maritime research funders and other key players at the national and international levels. ONF aims to ensure the involvement of the Black Sea country funding agencies/ministries to strengthen the cooperation among public research funders at the regional level and facilitate the alignment of national priorities (i.e., research and innovation strategies and programmes) and prepare the ground for the focused funding of joint actions to address the key challenges and goals of the SRIA.
4. Support the design and implementation of new transnational joint activities: Based on the priorities of the SRIA, these activities have been defined together with relevant key actors and eventually facilitate the cooperation of joint transnational actions. The aim was to have concrete projects/proposals supporting the implementation of the SRIA. These have become the first 3 defined themes of the Implementation Plan. During the lifetime of the CSA, 3 actions were piloted under 3 themes: Education, Innovation and One Health.
5. Making the Black Sea visible through empowered Black Sea societies: Black Sea CONNECT has strongly focused on capillary dissemination from local to international levels towards different stakeholders and through multiple channels. The project aimed to comprehensively engage the public, increasing the awareness of the opportunities presented by Blue Economy. The objective is also to enhance awareness, understanding, and participation in several actions that will be designed in the course of the project. One of the biggest achievements of Black Sea CONNECT CSA was that it put the Black Sea on the world map by making it highly visible to the Blue Economy stakeholders not only in the Black Sea region but at the European and global scales. The CSA developed a strategy to support public outreach, involving citizens in scientific work and actions such as enhancing monitoring capabilities while also empowering citizens.          The CONSORTIUM was made of 12 organizations from 8 countries: the Black Sea coastal countries, namely the Republic of Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, the Republic of Türkiye, Ukraine as well as Republic of Moldova and European Union countries Germany and France.