Executive Summary
Governments are accelerating smart, inclusive and sustainable economic growth based on innovation. These endeavors come amid a range of social and environmental challenges such as addressing the impacts of climate change, improving public health and adapting to demographic changes.
In response to these "major challenges", An innovation policy must be developed to achieve the desired goals, This is done by formulating a set of basic solutions that will stimulate the mechanisms of production, distribution and consumption across different sectors, In developing this policy, the following shall be taken into account:
- Economic growth reflects not only numbers, but also trends.
- Innovation requires investment and risk taking on the part of the public and private sectors.
- The state plays an important role not only in correcting market conditions, but also in participating in its formation and contouring.
- A successful innovation policy combines the need for orientation from senior leadership with the ability to enable experience and learning in employees.
- Achieving ambitious visions requires achieving partnership and consensus among members of society.
This approach differs from small-use policies that are built on the needs of individual sectors; it focuses on concrete challenges that require comprehensive transformation across different sectors and involves partnerships between different actors (government, private, third sector and civil society). This has been demonstrated in practice by the Apollo to the Moon programme and Germany's recent "energy transition" policy aimed at achieving ambitious climate change targets.
Challenges and opportunities for goal-oriented innovation policy
In light of the growing interest of policymakers, Tangible progress must be made across a number of axes to reach the maximum potential of goal-oriented innovation policies.
Our approach to policy development is often constrained by a "market correction" mentality, ignoring the role of the state in the development and formation of these markets. The markets themselves are the product of transactions between representatives of the public and private sectors. As well as representatives of the third sector and civil society.
In light of this approach, Goal-oriented policy studies have not integrated empirical visions to provide integrated perceptions that can replace the traditional view of policies that lack orientation.
This has resulted in inadequate mechanisms for assessing the economic impact of policies. The goal-oriented framework requires continuous and effective oversight and evaluation across the entire process of innovation policymaking, In contrast to an inefficient framework that relies on consistent cost-benefit analyses based on a comparison of "past and current situations".
Lack of understanding of the vital relationship between the public and private sectors in driving innovation also leads to a lack of harmonization between risks and positive outcomes. For example, when the government sector provides venture capital for early-stage innovation projects, The government entity must be able to benefit from the resulting gains similar to what private investors do. Otherwise, The financing of such investments cannot be guaranteed in the long term, This harms the interests of both the public and private sectors.
However, Government entities are not always able to fulfill their role in promoting cooperation between the public and private sectors. The idea of characterizing the government sector as a mere "facilitator" of so-called "wealth makers" in the private sector has taken root, leading to less energy and resources being expended to develop the wealth creation potential of the government sector. This, in turn, has made working in the government sector less attractive than its private counterpart.
To correct the prevailing approach, There is an urgent need to set grand objectives in policymaking, take risks when necessary (rather than just reduce risk) and invest in capacity building, competencies and expertise within the country that support successful strategic initiatives. Changing the course and approach to wealth creation is crucial. In this context, The government and private sectors can formulate ideas on what can be innovated and developed together and how they can share the risks and benefits involved. This trend requires the openness of the government sector and the initiative towards foreseeing prospects. As well as building exploratory capabilities and enriching institutional learning. So our primary concern should revolve around learning from our mistakes rather than being afraid of falling into them.
What's more?
Innovation is based on the concept of bringing about radical change. To verify the feasibility of the innovation policy, it is necessary to ensure that it reflects the main characteristics of radical change: Mystery, exploration, thorough analysis and participatory effort. So, For innovation policy to succeed in stimulating smart, inclusive and sustainable growth, you must first recognize that ambiguity can call for inevitable failures that are an integral part of the innovation process. Policymaking must be patient and receptive to the long-term investment horizon. Finally, you should realize that innovation is a participatory work between several sectors, including government agencies.
To this end, Countries need to adopt behaviors that stimulate and support entrepreneurship, This concept implies the role of taking the initiative and risk taken by the governments of a few countries that have succeeded in achieving innovation-led growth.
Changes in mindset, theoretical frameworks, institutional possibilities and required policies should in no way be seen as insignificant. On the other hand, it is necessary to emphasize that the goal-oriented innovation policy is not entirely new. As explained in this report, There are theories, evidence, case studies and concrete experiences of successful best practices that have emerged over decades.
To highlight the results of this approach, We must integrate all these perceptions into a more coherent framework across all sectors, entities and communities, More importantly, political commitment and government legitimacy underpinning it.