Innovation and Systems Change: Opportunities for Society and Governance

Event details

Location

Representation of the State of Baden-Württemberg to the European Union, Rue Belliard 60-62, 1040 Brussels, Belgium

Looking back

As part of our 50th founding anniversary, a symposium under the title "Innovation and System Change: Opportunities for Society and Governance" was held in Brussels on May 12th 2022 with many exciting speakers, discussions and insights.

Panel discussion in Brussels (from the left): Prof. Dr. Karoline Rogge (Fraunhofer ISI & University of Sussex), Christian Ehler (MEP), Lieve Van Woensel (STOA), Sanna-Riikka Saarela (SYKE, EEA ETC ST), Suzana Anghel (ECOS) und Peter Dröll (DG RTD, European Commission).

Joanna Drake, Deputy Director of DG Research and Innovation of the European Commission, introduced in her keynote the mission logic and activities at EU level as a means to engage all actors of the research and innovation circle and stressed the meaning of important sources of analysis to support mission design and implementation such as Fraunhofer ISI.

Our Executive Director Prof. Dr. Jakob Edler then put the current challenges for policy making and supporting analysis in historical context. He pointed out that while we may not overestimate the role of the state in shaping transformation, we nevertheless need to be even more ambitious in policy making and in supporting analysis.

This interplay of expertise was introduced in keynote speeches by Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Eichhammer, Dr. Stephanie Daimer and Prof. Dr. Rainer Walz, which were held under the motto "Challenges and success factors in system transformations: Insights from energy transition and innovation policy".

The participants of the symposium then discussed the challenges for analysis and policy around four significant aspects of STI policy making: "Technology Sovereignty", "Regulation", "Strategic Intelligence" and "Social Innovations". The results of these discussions were then discussed further in a plenary session, moderated by Prof. Dr. Karoline Rogge, with Suzana Anghel (ECOS), Peter Dröll (DG RTD), Lieve Van Woensel (STOA), Sanna-Riikka Saarela (EEA ETC ST) and Christian Ehler (MEP/STOA). In addition, in a critical reflection on policy making, Mr Ehler (European Parliament) urged the analytical community and policy makers to take more care in defining and differentiating key concepts, also warning against mixing too many policy goals and overburdening STI policy with a number of claims on which STI by itself cannot deliver.

Jakob Edler wrapped up the symposium as one step towards an improved mutual understanding across disciplines, sectors and stakeholder groups, highlighting the main take away of the event: If we join forces, we can make a difference, which means for Fraunhofer ISI, that we are called to continue and improve our research on the integration of innovation systems, innovation governance and transformation analysis.

15:30	Welcome speech by Prof. Jakob Edler, Managing Director of Fraunhofer ISI
15:40	Keynote speech by Joanna Drake, Deputy Director of DG Research and Innovation of the European Commission
16:00	»Challenges and success factors for system transformations: Insights from energy transition and innovation policy«, impulse lectures by Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Eichhammer, Dr. Stephanie Daimer and Prof. Dr. Karoline Rogge (Fraunhofer ISI)
16:30	Four parallel discussions on the following topics: »Technological sovereignty as a new conceptual framework for innovation policy« »Regulation, innovation & innovation policy« »Requirements of strategic intelligence« »Social innovations for transformation?«
17:30	Panel discussion: »How can sector policy be better linked to research and innovation policy?«
18:30	Closing with a buffet

Event

Symposium in Brussels / May 12, 2022, 15:30 - 18:30 h