Global: Mission-Oriented Innovation

An interview with Patrick Vincent, Public Innovation Director at the Open Innovation Lab of the Metropole of Lyon (ERASME). The Metropole of Lyon, France’s second-largest public administration, has long fostered socio-environmental transitions through investments in soft mobility, urban climate resilience, sustainable food systems, and local solidarity. Yet, when tackling complex “wicked” problems, it often encounters what Patrick Vincent, Public Innovation Director at ERASME,…

Systemic challenges like climate change, sustainable agriculture, and a future-proof and digital economy require governments to go beyond traditional approaches. At RVO, the Netherlands Entreprise Agency, we’ve embraced transition management and mission portfolio management to guide our role in these dynamic transitions. Our journey in operationalising these approaches has shown us that addressing complex societal challenges requires more than predefined frameworks or traditional approaches.…

This post was co-authored by the experts from the OECD Mission Action Lab, a joint initiative of the OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation, the OECD Directorate of Public Governance, and the OECD Development Co-operation Directorate. In our work at the OECD Mission Action Lab, we frequently encounter a crucial question from policymakers: when is a mission an appropriate policy response? This a fair but difficult question to answer. Indeed, when well designed and...

This blog post was authored by experts from the OECD Mission Action Lab, a joint initiative of the OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation, the OECD Directorate of Public Governance and the OECD Development Co-operation Directorate. It has been 10 years since Professor Mariana Mazzucato’s influential book “Entrepreneurial State” came out. It has inspired the European Union, states, agencies, regions, and cities around the globe to launch missions and mission-oriented…

This blog post was authored by experts from the OECD Mission Action Lab, a joint initiative of the OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation, the OECD Directorate of Public Governance and the OECD Development Co-operation Directorate. Despite the concept’s widespread popularity, the terminology surrounding missions can come across as convoluted. This is understandable, given that the term – which denotes ambitious, time bound, cross-sectoral and measurable policy objectives to…

The world is in a state of climate emergency, a ‘code red’ for humanity. The twin climate and biodiversity crises demand urgent, co-ordinated action to transform existing social-technological systems. Simply accelerating what we are doing now cannot avert the most catastrophic impacts of climate change. As Secretary-General António Guterres stated in his opening remarks at COP27, we need “a Pact in which developed and emerging economies unite around a common strategy and combine…

Even more than two thousand kilometers of coastline can’t keep challenges out of Korea. The predominantly water locked country, like many around the world, is grappling with challenges borne out of an increasingly interconnected world. Collective efforts to address them are paramount.  The global response to the COVID-19 health crisis highlighted the potential of partnerships and international collaboration to tackle common problems. Challenges in one country will spill over and so can…

One of the biggest challenges in taking a mission-oriented innovation approach is operationalising the ambitions in practice. While many missions have been announced – including missions to tackle climate change, enhance equality, reduce poverty, and many others – there is a lack of analytical reflection of what drives missions to success. To answer this question, the OECD Mission Action Lab and the Danish Design Centre conducted a survey in December 2021. Two hundred and twenty...

This blog is part of a series introducing the OECD Mission Action Lab (MAL), an initiative supporting countries to turn mission-oriented innovation into action. Find out more about the OECD Mission Action Lab or contact us at [email protected]. The Unevenly Distributed Future Picture two mules and a wooden wagon right next to a space rocket. Now picture a world in which the richest 1% have more than twice as much wealth as 6.9 billion people,...