Mission-oriented innovation in the EU. A problem-solving approach

The Report written by Mariana Mazzucato at the request of the European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, Carlos Moedas, has just been published. A public consultation has been open until April 3rd

A major report on how to maximise the impact of the future EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation through mission-oriented policy has just been released. The report – ‘Mission-Oriented Research and Innovation in the European Union – A problem solving approach to fuel innovation-led growth‘ – has been written by ISIGrowth’s researcher and director of UCL’s Institute of Innovation and Public Purpose Mariana Mazzucato at the request of European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, Carlos Moedas.

Mazzucato has been appointed special adviser to Carlos Moedas, EU commissioner for research, science and innovation, last January.

The report provides strategic recommendations on mission oriented projects, and how they can be structured in the future European Union Research and Innovation Programme (FP9). It is focussed on a wide range of societal challenges such as ridding the oceans of plastic pollution, halving the burden of dementia and turning 100 European cities carbon-neutral by 2030.

The European Commission is finalising plans for FP9 which, according to the Financial Times, is expected to have a seven-year budget of between €80bn and €100bn.

“I look at what we can learn from the missions of the past, like the Apollo programme, and how to apply those lessons to the more complex societal challenges of today,” writes Mazzucato in report’s preface. ‘’A key lesson is that missions must be bold, activating innovation across sectors, across actors and across disciplines. Stakeholders should be involved to design mission-oriented programs for societal challenges’’ she adds.

The European Commission has launched a public consultation on the report. A dedicated EU survey has been launched from February 22th until April 3rd.

 

Click here to participate to the survey

Click here to download and read the full report