Mission-Oriented Research & Innovation in the European Union - MISSIONS A problem-solving approach to fuel innovation-led growth
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MISSIONS
Mission-Oriented
Research & Innovation
in the European Union
A problem-solving approach to fuel innovation-led growth
by Mariana MAZZUCATO
Research and
Innovation
MISSIONS
Mission-Oriented Research & Innovation in the European Union
A problem-solving approach to fuel innovation-led growth
European Commission
Directorate-General for Research and Innovation
Directorate A – Policy Development and Coordination
Unit A.6 – Open Data Policy and Science Cloud
Contact Phebe Dudek; Ciara Phelan
E-mail Phebe.dudek@ec.europa.eu; Ciara.Phelan@ec.europa.eu
RTD-PUBLICATIONS@ec.europa.eu
European Commission
B-1049 Brussels
Manuscript completed in February 2018.
The views expressed in this document reflect the opinion of the author and may not in any circumstances be regarded
as stating an official position of the Commission.
More information on the European Union is available on the internet (http://europa.eu).
Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2018
Print ISBN 978-92-79-79918-1 doi:10.2777/36546 KI-02-18-079-EN-C
PDF ISBN 978-92-79-79832-0 doi:10.2777/360325 KI-02-18-079-EN-N
© European Union, 2018
Reuse is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. The reuse policy of European Commission documents is
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sought directly from the copyright holders.
Image: © Anton Balazh, #26526903, 2018. Source: Fotolia.com.EUROPEAN COMMISSION
MISSIONS
Mission-Oriented
Research & Innovation
in the European Union
A problem-solving approach to fuel innovation-led growth
by Mariana MAZZUCATO
2018 Directorate-General for Research and Innovation2
PREFACE
BY PROFESSOR
MARIANA MAZZUCATO
The European Commissioner for into concrete, measurable, and, most
Research, Science and Innovation, Carlos importantly, achievable missions.
Moedas, invited me to draft strategic
recommendations on mission-oriented I look at what we can learn from the
research and innovation in the EU, to guide missions of the past — like the Apollo
the future European Union Framework Program — and how to apply those lessons
Programme for Research and Innovation. to the more complex challenges of today.
A key lesson is that missions must be
To find a way to bring together the triple bold, activating innovation across sectors,
objectives of smart innovation-led growth, across actors and across disciplines. They
inclusion and sustainability, we must first must also enable bottom-up solutions
answer the critical question of how to direct and experimentation. I provide examples
innovation to solve the pressing global of what possible future missions at EU
challenges of our time. level could look like. I stress that these
examples do not presume to pre-empt
Europe has been thinking about and what must be a participatory selection
tackling such challenges for a long time, process. Rather, they are intended to
including through Horizon 2020. In this trigger the imagination and ambition of
report I examine and explain how research participants in that process.
and innovation can not only stimulate
growth and economic activity but how it I developed this report taking into
can also actively direct it towards meeting consideration the Interim Evaluation of
global challenges by transforming them Horizon 20201, the ESIR Memorandum2, the
1
European Commission (2018) Horizon 2020 Evaluation.
Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/research/evaluations/index.cfm?pg=h2020evaluation (Accessed: 12 February 2018)
2
European Commission (2018) AN ESIR MEMORANDUM - Towards a mission-oriented research and innovation policy in the European Union.
Available at: http://europa.eu/!hB37Cx, Executive Summary available at: http://europa.eu/!Fp36hhRISE Perspective on Mission-oriented R&I Missions provide a massive opportunity
Policy3 and dedicated case study reports4. to increase the impact of European
research and innovation, grasp the public
In the last months, I have held a series imagination and make real progress on
of targeted discussions with relevant complex challenges. I hope this report
stakeholder groups 5. I also had the will assist policy makers in designing and
opportunity to give a keynote speech, implementing the European missions of
followed by a discussion, to the the future, as well as nurture a new belief
Competitiveness Council on the topic of amongst EU citizens about what real
mission-oriented policy across Europe on collaboration across Europe can achieve.
December 1, 2017 based on my working I thank everyone who has contributed for
paper Mission-oriented Innovation Policy: their engagement and dedication, which has
Challenges and Opportunities6. given me a palpable sense of how powerful
missions can be at bringing people together
All of these inputs have been invaluable around ambitious common goals.
to me in developing a vision of what a
European mission-oriented research and Professor Mariana Mazzucato
innovation policy could look like and I have
tried to include in this report some of the
insights and feedback received.
3
European Commission (2018) Mission-oriented R&I Policy – A RISE Perspective. Available at: http://europa.eu/!uR68yR
4
European Commission (2018) Research, Innovation and Science Policy Experts (RISE).
Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/research/openvision/index.cfm?pg=home#mission (Accessed 16 February 2018)
5
See annex for details
6
Mazzucato, M. (2017) ‘Mission-oriented Innovation Policy: Challenges and Opportunities’, UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose
(IIPP) Working Paper Series, (IIPP 2017-01). Available at: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/public-purpose/sites/public-purpose/files/
moip-challenges-and-opportunities-working-paper-2017-1.pdf (Accessed: 12 February 2018)4
INTRODUCTION
WHY EUROPE NEEDS perception of future growth opportunities.
MISSIONS Missions help define those opportunities in
ambitious ways.
The ability of innovation to spur economic
growth has long been recognised. Less Mission-oriented policies can be defined
recognised is the fact that innovation has as systemic public policies that draw on
not only a rate but also a direction. By frontier knowledge to attain specific goals
harnessing the directionality of innovation, or “big science deployed to meet big
we also harness the power of research problems” 7. Missions provide a solution, an
and innovation to achieve wider social and opportunity, and an approach to address
policy aims as well as economic goals. the numerous challenges that people face
Therefore, we can have innovation-led in their daily lives. Whether that be to have
growth that is also more sustainable and clean air to breathe in congested cities, to
equitable. live a healthy and independent life at all
ages, to have access to digital technologies
Finding ways to steer economic growth, that improve public services, or to have
and the European policy agenda, is difficult better and cheaper treatment of diseases
but necessary. Missions are a powerful tool like cancer or obesity that continue to
to do this. They can provide the means affect billions of people across the globe. To
to focus our research, innovation and engage research and innovation in meeting
investments on solving critical problems, such challenges, a clear direction must
while also spurring growth, jobs and be given, while also enabling bottom-up
resulting in positive spillovers across many solutions. The debate about directionality
sectors. Critically, by spearheading public should involve a wide array of stakeholders,
research and innovation investments in new each contributing to the key questions:
strategic areas that have the possibility What are the key challenges facing society;
to bring together different actors (public, How can concrete missions help solve those
private and third sector) and spurring challenges; How can the missions be best
collaboration across different sectors designed to enable participation across
(e.g. from transport to digital to nutrition) different actors, bottom-up experimentation
it is possible to awaken private sector and system-wide innovation?
investment that continues to lag. Indeed,
what drives private investment is the
7
Ergas, H. (1987) ‘Does technology policy matter?’, in Guile, B.R. and Brooks H. (eds.) Technology and global industry: Companies and
nations in the world economy, Washington DC: National Academies Press, pp. 191-245.5
EUROPE’S MISSION expertise that today lies mostly fragmented
POTENTIAL or untapped across Europe. They are also
a way to harness the recognition that such
Societal challenges are complex. More expertise is itself an outcome of investment
complex than going to the moon, which and innovation.
was mainly a technical feat. To solve them
requires attention to the ways in which A mission-driven approach can be critical
socio-economic issues interact with politics for European competitiveness. Other major
and technology, to the need for smart players in the global economy, like China or
regulation, and to the critical feedback the United States, have innovation systems
processes that take place across the entire that are more centralised or focused on a
innovation chain. It also requires stronger reduced number of key clusters. Europe, on
civic engagement. Importantly, such the other hand, is both more fragmented
challenges cannot be solved by any single – which can be a negative in terms of
European country, no matter how large it gaining scale – and more diverse – which
may be. Only at the level of the European creates a messier but also potentially more
Union, with its long experience of operating creative environment. To capitalise on this
within a multilevel governance system, can asset, Europe needs to take the next step
we achieve the scale and diversity of talent and take advantage of its unique nature as
and ideas to make real progress. a common market of diverse economies.
In addition to strengthening regional
The sheer complexity and specialisation research and innovation capacities, Europe
of science today means that attitudes of also needs European Union wide efforts
openness and collaboration are not a nice to connect policies and grand challenges.
complement, but rather a critical factor for What the mission approach can add to the
success. European Member States are at next European Framework Programme for
different levels of economic development, Research and Innovation is a new lens to
with some having invested much less than help steer investment towards tackling
others in the key pillars of innovation: challenges but in a more focussed, problem-
education and research. Nevertheless, in solving manner. Europe’s unique multilevel
every single country there are areas of governance system is highly suitable for
excellence and expertise that could prove to mission-oriented policies: member states
be the critical factor to solve the challenges and regions can experiment within larger
of today. Missions are primarily a way to EU-wide missions.
orchestrate the rich diversity of talent andTHE MAN ON THE MOON MISSION
The Apollo ‘Man on the Moon’ mission expressed by President John
F. Kennedy in 1961(a) was a geo-political and technological mission.
It set a clear and ambitious objective: put a man on the moon and
bring him back safely. There was also a concrete timeline – get there
before the end of the decade (1960s).
The Apollo mission required investments and innovation not just
in aerospace but also across multiple sectors (food, medicine,
computation, materials, biology, microbiology, geology, electronics,
and communications). Without new materials, for example, the
mission would not have worked. It inspired children to dream about
becoming astronauts; reinvigorating STEM subjects in schools; required
researchers from various disciplines and sectors to cooperate to solve
problems in a bottom-up manner; stimulated new types of risk-taking
in many different sub-projects, of which many, of course, failed.
Apollo resulted in success - when Neil Armstrong was the first man
to set his foot on the moon on 20 July 1969 – but it also led to
many unexpected spinoffs that would not have emerged without this
massive engagement with a science and innovation led objective.
Indeed many of these spinoffs — such as the integrated circuit —
would have arisen even if Armstrong had never set foot on the moon.
The process of systemic cross-disciplinary, cross-sectoral, and cross-
actor innovation that Apollo stimulated was every bit as important
as the mission itself.
Apollo was inspirational, and much can be learned about the importance
of setting clear goals, while allowing bottom-up experimentation to
contribute to the overall success, but when we think of selecting EU
missions today it is necessary to frame missions with a clearer societal
relevance. While a purely technological mission may be appropriate
for an innovation agency (e.g. in the case of space this would
include NASA or ESA), at the EU level, we must be more ambitious
in making the link to societal impact. For example, it would be useful
to consider how innovation in space, particularly in new satellites
and surveillance technology, could be used to curtail the number of
deaths of immigrants crossing the Mediterranean. This would require
collaboration between sectors as different as space, security services,
marine technology, shipping, and immigration services.
(a)
European Commission (2018) Mission-oriented R&I policies: Case Study Report Apollo Project (US).
Available at: http://europa.eu/!Fj47uu.7
This is not about a box ticking exercise to frontier science to support for start-ups
solve one problem after another. This is and partnerships with industry. This means
a way to steer economic growth in ways that missions can provide policy makers
that are more meaningful. It is also about for the first time a privileged view over the
designing and implementing policies in a different elements of this vast and complex
way that more strongly links them to delivery programme.
and results. Indeed, in a historical period
in which business investment is lagging European research and innovation missions
and belief in liberal democracy seems will thus have as a core strength and
to be floundering, missions also provide differentiating factor privileged direct
more excitement about where economic access to the pipeline of one of the most
growth opportunities might lie and how to comprehensive science and innovation
reinvigorate democratic processes around programmes in the world. Under a given
economic policies. By setting missions that mission, it will be possible both to identify
require different sectors to work together, some of the most advanced, relevant
it is possible to create instruments that scientific projects funded by the European
reward those businesses that are willing and Research Council and mobilise them to
able to co-invest alongside European and contribute to a mission; and at the same
Member State public investments. It is not time to use the future European Innovation
about static subsidies but about dynamic Council to look into what the most advanced
co-investment along the entire innovation start-ups are doing and how they can
chain. It is about thinking how to concretely support a given mission. Thus, missions will
share not only the risks of innovation but be a way to combine different and diverse
also how to best share the rewards in ways inputs into a more creative, ambitious
that benefit society the most. and effective result. Bold missions can
provide new syntheses that are today
impossible and thus will hopefully achieve
CHANGE BEGINS AT HOME the breakthroughs that are urgently needed
to solve some of the most pressing issues
Because “change begins at home”, missions facing our citizens.
first and foremost have to tap into the rich
stock and flow of high quality science and
innovation that is already being funded
under different European programmes.
Horizon 2020 is one of the largest global
funds for science and innovation. It is
certainly the largest fund under a single
political authority, with the added strength
of being fully open to the world. Unlike
most other public funds, it combines
science and innovation under the same
umbrella, spanning from curiosity-driven8
MISSIONS FOR EU RESEARCH
AND INNOVATION
SOCIETAL RELEVANCE a mission on quantum computing could
have strong societal impact if it is framed
Research and innovation missions at the in terms of the potential to enhance cyber
European level should be prioritised in security, improve industrial processes, or
those areas where the added value to support the development of new types of
the EU is greatest. A mission should have health care services. At the same time, the
societal relevance, for example in the ability innovative spillovers that might result along
to improve health, nutrition, or the living the way may not be known beforehand and
environment for a large section of European can have unforeseen applications. Indeed,
citizens across a range of Member States. most of the technologies in our smart
Research and innovation missions should products today — from the Internet to GPS
aim to improve society’s welfare. This will — emerged as spillovers from missions of
require dedicated framing. For example, the past8.
8
Mazzucato, M. (2013) The Entrepreneurial State: debunking public vs. private sector myths, London: Anthem Press, UK
ENERGIEWENDE
There are lessons to be learned from how missions have been set at Member State level. The
Energiewende in Germany addresses the important societal challenge of reducing carbon
emissions, which are a key cause of climate change. The mission is framed with clear targets
including that of exiting from nuclear power production in Germany by 2022.
While Energiewende contains a strong political steer, it is framed in such a way as to
stimulate bottom-up research and innovation processes across multiple sectors, including,
for example, sectors like steel that have otherwise remained relatively inertial. It was the
Energiewende that stimulated steel to trial the conversion of smelting gas from steel
production into base chemicals using renewable energy. Energiewende packages a complex
mixture of policy, investment and legislation into one simple idea that makes it clear to
German citizens that their government, scientists and businesses are working to make their
society free of dependence on nuclear power. Energiewende is also interesting in that it9
Nelson’s work on The Moon and the Ghetto9 greater need to combine understandings of
asked the demanding question of why sociology, politics, economics and technology
innovation has resulted in such difficult to solve these problems, as well as to make
feats as landing a man on the moon, and the conscious decision to point innovation
yet continues to be so terribly disorganised towards them. This is exactly what a well-
and technologically unsavvy in dealing designed mission can achieve.
with the more earthly problems of poverty,
illiteracy, and the emergence of ghettos and
slums. He argued that while politics was NO ‘ONE SIZE FITS ALL’
partly the culprit, the real problem was that
a purely scientific and technological solution Missions come in different shapes and
could not solve such problems. There is a sizes. There is no ‘one size fits all’ definition
9
Nelson, R.R. (2011) ‘The Moon and the Ghetto Revisited’, Science and Public Policy, 38(9), pp. 681–690.
Available at: https://doi.org/10.1093/scipol/38.9.681 (Accessed: 12 February 2018)
addresses a concern that has arisen from decades of a citizen-driven green movement. This
movement resulted in the societal legitimacy to set such a clear goal (the ambitions of the
Energiewende are supported by 90% of the German population).(b) Ultimately, Energiewende
is based on a longstanding and growing sentiment of exiting nuclear power production but
only became a mission after a political decision to engage based on the Fukushima nuclear
disaster in Japan in March 2011 (we see a similar dynamic in how the Apollo mission
responded to Sputnik). The lesson for European research and innovation missions is that
they should be based on a selection process that starts with a political steer on topics of
societal relevance, while simultaneously mobilising active public involvement in the decision-
making on the choice for missions.
(b)
European Commission (2018) Mission-oriented R&I policies: Case Study Report Energiewende (DE). Available at: http://europa.eu/!md89DM10
of what a mission should be and how it One hundred and ninety three countries
should be structured. To allow research and have signed up to these inspirational
innovation missions to create impact with goals; hence, they provide an excellent
societal relevance, flexibility is needed in opportunity to move forwards with mission-
how the mission is defined. In some areas, oriented thinking. They must be taken
a mission should trigger action to speed up seriously as both an obligation to future
progress in the development of technologies generations and for global prosperity, but
to increase their societal impact. In other also as opportunities to steer investment-
areas, the mission should drive a systemic led growth. Addressing these challenges,
change. Most likely, ambitious missions that around health and the environment, must
have the potential to have wide societal not be seen as a trade-off with a focus
impact will need a combination of both, but on economic growth. Rather they present
their characteristics may differ10. a means to focus on opportunities for
investment-led growth — crowding in
When developing a new mission, the art lies activity across actors. In addition, targets
in learning from past missions, be it missions must be set so that progression to achieving
more focussed on diffusion or missions such challenges is as serious as the goal
focussed on new frontier technologies, and setting itself.
adapting that knowledge and expertise to
fit today’s challenges and so defining and Within the European research and
structuring a new mission. Putting ‘old wine innovation context, Horizon 2020
in new bottles’ won’t work11. We must allow introduced seven Societal Challenges to
missions to genuinely interact with the new structure its programming. This process was
types of complex problems societies face, complemented by Focus Areas, defining
as well as incorporating the new knowledge areas of activity that cut across several of
we have on how innovation comes about to the Societal Challenges, such as the circular
their design: it is serendipitous, non-linear economy, or digitisation. Even though this
and very high risk. has led to a step-change in coherence and
coordination, moving away from sectoral
research and innovation programming,
GRANULARITY: it has stopped short of delivering broad
BETWEEN A PROJECT AND societal impact as impact is still assessed
at the level of individual projects.
A CHALLENGE
The SDGs, Societal Challenges or Focus
Global challenges have been expressed as Areas are useful to ensure focus, but
17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).12 for the most part remain too broad to
10
Foray, D., Mowery, D.C., and Nelson, R. R. (2012) ‘Public R&D and social challenges: What lessons from mission R&D programs?’, Research
Policy, 41(10), pp. 1697–1902.
11
Mowery, D.C., Nelson, R. R. and Martin, B. (2010) ‘Technology policy and global warming: Why new policy models are needed (or why
putting new wine in old bottles won’t work)’, Research Policy, 39(8), pp. 1011- 1023.
12
European Commission (2018) The Sustainable Development Goals.
Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/policies/sustainable-development-goals_en (Accessed 16 February 2018)11
be actionable. On the other end of the deployment actions and involvement of
spectrum, research and innovation projects end-users.
have clear objectives and are actionable,
but will remain isolated in their impacts if Missions should be broad enough to engage
not clearly linked to their ability to address the public and attract cross-sectoral
global challenges and to achieve societal investment; and remain focussed enough
impact. to involve industry and achieve measurable
success. By setting the direction for a
The ‘granularity’ of European research and solution, missions do not specify how to
innovation missions thus sits between broad achieve success. Rather, they stimulate
challenges and concrete projects. Missions the development of a range of different
set clear and ambitious objectives that can solutions to achieve the objective. As such, a
only be achieved by a portfolio of research mission can make a significant and concrete
and innovation projects and supportive contribution to meeting an SDG or Societal
measures, such as policy interventions, Challenge.
Figure 1 below illustrates the movement from broad challenges to specific missions.
Political Agenda
Setting and
Civic Engagement
GRAND
CHALLENGES
Clear
MISSION MISSION Targeted
Missions
Mission Mission
projects projects
Portfolio of
projects and
bottom-up
Mission experimentation
projects
Figure 1. From Challenges to Missions Image: RTD - A.1 based on Mazzucato (2017)12
For example, SDG 14 ‘Conserve and error, and serendipity (the search for one
sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine thing leads to the discovery of another)
resources for sustainable development’ - picking missions that have different
could be broken down into various missions, possibilities for solutions will enhance the
for example ’A plastic-free ocean’. This innovation dynamic itself.
could stimulate research and innovation in
means to clear plastic waste from oceans,
or in reducing use of plastics, innovation in NEW CONVERSATIONS
new materials, research on health impacts BETWEEN FUNDAMENTAL
from micro-plastics, behavioural research
and innovation to improve recycling or drive AND APPLIED RESEARCH
public engagement in cleaning up beaches.
Each of these areas can be broken down into Missions are not about prioritising applied
particular ‘projects’. This is further analysed research and innovation over basic
in the example section of this report, as well fundamental research, which will continue
as other illustrative examples. to be funded by instruments like the
European Research Council. Rather they
are a new way to frame the conversations
FOSTERING between the two, galvanising new forms of
EXPERIMENTATION collaboration. Missions are also a new way
to think about the dynamic interactions
Missions must be chosen. Yet their success between enabling horizontal policies
will depend on the bottom-up processes (framework policies around e.g. education,
that nurture innovation while ‘getting there’. skills, training, research and innovation)
A culture of experimentation and risk- and more directed vertical policies (e.g.
taking is a crucial element in the philosophy health, environment, energy). Instead of
of missions. There must be incentives to using vertical policies to ‘pick’ sectors or
‘think outside the box’ to come up with new technologies, the vertical aspect of missions
solutions to address the mission objective. picks the problem. The solution is then
This requires a portfolio approach, based reached by stimulating multiple sectors and
on different solutions, and a broad range of multiple forms of cross-actor collaborations
different interactions. The objective should to work to address those problems using the
be addressed by multiple actors, stimulating entire research and innovation value chain,
cross-discipline academic work, with a from fundamental research to applied
strong focus on the intersection between research and cutting-edge innovation.
natural sciences, formal sciences, social
sciences and humanities; collaborations
across different industries; and new
forms of partnerships between the public
sector, the private sector and civil society
organisations. Innovation itself is often
characterised by feedback effects, trial andFET Flagships The EU has launched ‘Future and Emerging Technology (FET) Flagships’, initially on Graphene and the Human Brain, and more recently on Quantum. FET Flagships demonstrate a high level of ambition and commitment (€1 billion from a range of sources over a number of years) with a strong technology-driven approach based on multi- disciplinary research activities. Their high ambition and significant public EU research investment have crowded-in industry partners and mobilised private investment. Based on these characteristics, FET Flagships show a high degree of alignment with EU research and innovation missions as described in this report. However, the FET Flagships have not so far put the same emphasis on public engagement or on defining goals and milestones in terms of societal relevance, even though they do aim to turn scientific and technological developments into innovations that can be brought to market, and aim to support societal challenges. The experience from the current FET flagships should prove valuable for designing and implementing future missions, and applying the selection criteria, implementation requirements and public engagement criterion proposed here could increase the impact and visibility of FET flagships as future missions.
14
FIVE KEY CRITERIA
FOR SELECTING MISSIONS
Selecting missions that matter to society be formulated in binary ways (as clearly
and stimulate innovation across multiple as whether man has reached the moon
sectors is a highly complex task. Missions and returned back safely) or quantified (as
come in different shapes and sizes, but the clearly as whether a certain percentage
European research and innovation missions reduction in carbon emissions against
should fulfil the following key criteria. a baseline has been reached across
manufacturing). In addition, they will need a
1. BOLD, INSPIRATIONAL WITH WIDE clear timeframe within which actions should
SOCIETAL RELEVANCE take place. This needs to be long enough
Missions should engage the public. They to allow the process to grow, for actors to
should make clear that through ambitious, build relationships and interact, while at
bold action at the European level, solutions the same time being time-limited. Without
will be developed that will have an impact specific targets and timing, it will not be
on people’s daily lives. To do this, missions possible to determine success (or failure),
must outline exciting opportunities for or measure progress towards success.
bold innovation — while being connected
to debates in society about what the 3. AMBITIOUS BUT REALISTIC
key challenges are, like sustainability, RESEARCH & INNOVATION ACTIONS
inequality, health, climate change, and Mission objectives should be set in an
increasing the quality of the welfare state. ambitious manner (taking risks), centred on
Therefore, a mission cannot only have research and innovation activities across
relevance for the population of one Member the entire innovation chain, including
State, or a small sub-set of the European the feedback effects between basic and
population. It should touch the lives of, or applied research. Ambitious objectives will
inspire, a significant part of the European ensure that researchers and innovators
population. However, it is important to note are challenged to deliver what would
that relevance does not necessarily equate otherwise not be attempted (“additionality”
with popularity. in research). Yet, the objective should be
framed to be on the one hand high-risk but
2. A CLEAR DIRECTION: also realistically feasible, at least in theory,
TARGETED, MEASURABLE AND within the given time period.
TIME-BOUND
Missions need to be very clearly framed. Setting the technical objectives
While enabling long-term investments, unrealistically high will result in a lack of
they need a specific target that can either buy-in, while setting the objective too low15
will not incentivise extra efforts – or provide to health will not only involve innovation
inspiration. Furthermore, the required in pharmaceuticals but also in such areas
technological development should attract as nutrition, artificial intelligence, mobility
research and innovation activities that and new forms of digitally enhanced public
otherwise would likely not be undertaken service provision.
by private actors, providing the justification
and legitimacy for public intervention. This Missions connect all relevant actors through
does not have to be done within a narrow new forms of partnerships for co-design
market failure framework, but a more and co-creation by focussing on targets
active market ‘co-creation’ framework13. that require multiple sectors and actors to
solve. Thus, mission-oriented innovation
4. CROSS-DISCIPLINARY, has the possibility of leading to system-
CROSS-SECTORAL AND wide transformation.
CROSS-ACTOR INNOVATION
Missions should be framed in such a way 5. MULTIPLE, BOTTOM-UP SOLUTIONS
as to spark activity across, and among, Missions should not be achievable by a
multiple scientific disciplines (including single development path, or by a single
social sciences and humanities), across technology. They must be open to being
different industrial sectors (e.g. transport, addressed by different types of solutions.
nutrition, health, services), and different A mission-based approach is clear on the
types of actors (public, private, third sector, expected outcome. However, the trajectory
civil society organisations). Missions need to reach the outcome must be based on a
to be chosen to address clear challenges bottom-up approach of multiple solutions
that stimulate the private sector to invest — of which some will fail or have to be
where it would not have otherwise invested adjusted along the way.
(“additionality” in business). By taking a
problem focussed lens and not a sectoral
lens, problems related to sustainability will
not just involve, for example, renewable
energy, but could also involve transport,
strategic design, new digital solutions,
amongst others. Similarly, problems related
13
Mazzucato, M. (2016) «From Market Fixing to Market-Creating: A new framework for innovation policy», Special Issue of Industry and
Innovation: “Innovation Policy – can it make a difference?”, 23 (2)16
IMPLEMENTATION
The mission concept and proposed criteria both the EU and Member State level will be
provide a basis for identifying EU level critical to implement a successful mission.
research and innovation missions. However,
the future missions will also require new Missions should engage as much as possible
approaches to implementation. They with Member State strategies, including
should not be managed in the same way as industrial strategies - which in many
other parts of the Framework Programme, countries have made a comeback. Indeed a
like the European Research Council or mission-based approach is a useful lens for
future European Innovation Council (which an industrial strategy to be based around,
are bottom up), or the current approach so that it is not about picking sectors or
to the Societal Challenges. While lessons technologies but about picking problems
must be learned from the latter due to to guide innovation across multiple actors
the importance of challenges in setting in multiple sectors14. This will lead to more
the direction for change, missions are complementary public investments from
more concrete than challenges and thus European, national or regional programmes,
for their implementation we must also and also additional private investments,
learn from successful mission-orientated creating a catalysing effect on the chances
organisations around the world — of for success. Hence, missions can serve as
course adapted to the EU context. a way to initiate new EU-wide and national
dialogue around the role of public sector
The main lessons can be grouped under support for research and innovation – not
the following aspects only fixing market failures but also more
actively co-creating and co-shaping new
markets.
Engagement of diverse national and
regional stakeholders Selection of a mission that will incite broad
public engagement, as well as a wide
Mission objectives should provide legitimacy, interest from industry and civil society
such as relevance to the SDGs, EU priorities stakeholders, can spur further political
and/or Member State priorities; the mission commitment. Crucial to the implementation
should not exist in a vacuum. While EU of EU missions will be the need to
investments in research and innovation reinvigorate capacity building in public
are a basic condition, a broader political organisations and institutions as well as
commitment to align policy objectives at competencies and expertise at European,
14
For example, the UK Government’s recent Industrial Strategy White Paper states that the strategy will be focussed on addressing 4 key
societal challenges: Clean Growth, Future of Mobility, AI and the Data Economy, and the Ageing Society. Helping to translate these
challenges into multiple missions is the task of the new UCL Commission for Mission Oriented Innovation and Industrial Strategy (MOIIS).17
Member State, regional and local level. that the mission can be changed over time
This is essential to effectively coordinate if the milestones provide new information
and provide direction to participants when or show that the mission, for whatever
formulating and implementing missions reason, has been framed problematically
and needs adjusting. While missions are
long-term and should have a stable goal,
Measurement and impact by goals the intermediate signposts should be used
and milestones to decide whether changes in direction are
required, and, in some cases, whether the
It is essential for missions to define a mission itself needs redefining.
concrete target and objectives. That is to
say, it must be possible to say definitively In additional to the milestones, broader
whether the mission has been achieved or measures of the cross-sectoral and cross-
not. Appropriate indicators and monitoring science impact are needed. So even if a
frameworks will need to be established to milestone or the overall mission objective
measure progress. They must be dynamic, is not reached, the mission might still be
recognising that static cost-benefit analysis considered to be successful (at least to an
and net present value calculations would extent) if the process produced positive,
most likely stop any bold mission from the economy-wide spillovers (e.g. the Internet
outset. was not discovered because of an ex-
ante objective, but rather as a solution to
While missions must allow for long-term a problem that scientists had in the late
investments, the use of intermediate 1960s around allowing multiple computers
milestones is critical. Intermediate to communicate on a single network.).
milestones will provide the means to keep Indeed, creating cross-sectoral spillovers
track of progress towards the mission can be an objective itself, best achieved
objective and allow for informed and flexible when the process of innovation remains
adaptive decisions to intervene. Real- open and cross-disciplinary.
time data, publicly available, on progress
on the milestones will also keep a sense
of urgency, achievement and motivation A portfolio of instruments to foster
among involved actors. The use of AI and bottom up solutions
big data for creating dynamic metrics will
be very important. A mission is not a single project, but a
portfolio of actions that can encourage
Intermediate milestones will also be multiple solutions. A diverse set of different
important for flexibility and adaptation so funding instruments will help achieve this,18
from grants, to prizes, to new forms of of actions. As the focus is on reaching
procurement, and financial instruments. an outcome, a high degree of flexibility
This will guarantee that public funding and adaptability is required to allow the
is allocated to a diverse set of activities possibility to change course if there is a risk
with a focus on complementarities, and that the objective will not be achieved.
avoiding duplication. The process should
explicitly be one that admits the tension In budgetary terms, there should be a
between the top-down direction setting possibility to increase the budget for a
and the bottom-up explorative approaches. mission if there are indications that extra
Rather than prescriptive specifications investment (within boundaries) could make
of projects, participants should be given the difference between reaching a mission
flexibility to propose a variety of solutions objective or not. Similarly, if indicators
for achieving the mission goals and consistently point towards a situation where
intermediate milestones. This will nurture a mission objective is out of reach, the
bottom-up experimentation, but in each possibility to terminate a mission should
case the lessons (and data) from the also be conceivable.
experiments should be collected, analysed
and understood. Such decisions should be based on metrics
that can orchestrate the (tricky) balance
This would mark an important change from between the need for some form of ex-ante
programme management and evaluation dynamic risk assessment and the danger
under Horizon 2020. Rather than managing of writing off potentially viable missions
projects in isolation and according to project at an early stage because ex-ante impact
specific objectives, a portfolio of projects assessments cannot predict the kind of
would be managed to stimulate interaction, unexpected spillovers the mission approach
experimentation and cross-learning. Rather can cause.
than evaluating at the level of the overall
programme following the completion of This has implications for how European
actions, evaluation would be an integral public research and innovation funding
part of the mission and feed into the is allocated and assessed. Evaluation of
ongoing implementation and management project proposals should pay as much
of projects and funding. This would also attention to the portfolio of projects, as to
avoid funding projects that simply support the excellence of individual proposals. If
existing networks without necessarily individual projects, after a period of time
adding new value. and based on clear indicators, seem not to
be contributing to the mission objective, it
should be possible to redirect funding to
Flexibility, pro-active management other activities. In a similar vein, to ensure
and building in-house capabilities the maximum contribution of activities
to the mission objective, funding should
Missions are a concerted effort to reach a be distributed on a ‘stage-gate’ principle,
pre-defined objective through a multitude where successive tranches of funding19
are only allocated based on reaching an increasing number of public organisations
intermediate milestone. rely on external evaluators. While some
outsourcing is fine (scientific peer-review
This proactive approach to the management is a case of outsourcing), it is also crucial
of a portfolio of projects requires significant to build dynamic capabilities inside public
in-house capacities and expertise. Lessons institutions that are responsible for
should be learned from mission-oriented engaging with technological and scientific
organisations like DARPA and ARPA-E in the priorities. While public organisations may
US, Yozma in Israel, SITRA in Finland and require more long-term stability than
Vinnova in Sweden. The point is not to copy private ones, they still must nurture risk-
these organisations but to learn from key taking and experimentation– and hence
sources of their success. For example, these such capabilities have to be consciously
organisations have explicitly welcomed nurtured in the public sector.
risk-taking at the organisational level; they
have used secondment practices to bring This means we have to be willing to rethink
high-level scientists into the civil service the curricula for public administration
for limited time periods; they have often (including the relevant executive education
aligned goals with national procurement programmes) as well as key quality
practices; and have been extremely good at and performance management tools
drawing on expertise of wider networks15. and metrics widely employed in public
Such organisations develop what has been organisations. Public institutions in charge
called ‘mission mystique’16 or institutional of mission-oriented policies need to be
charisma: It is an honour to work in a willing to experiment with both bringing
mission-oriented organisation where in new expertise (e.g. establishing novel
ambitions for the use of innovation to solve forms of collaboration with third-sector
problems are as important as building in- organisations to pool and share expert
house capacity and expertise. knowledge 17) and changing everyday
routines and processes to build dynamic
Unfortunately, the trend is for much of organisational capabilities (including
the in-house knowledge to be outsourced dynamic performance management,
to third parties, whether consulting procurement, and human resources).
companies, think tanks or the private
sector. This is particularly noticeable in
policy and programme evaluations where
15
The Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP) at University College London has launched a Mission Oriented Innovation Network
(MOIN) that creates a platform where lessons are learned between global mission-oriented agencies, with particular emphasis on
the way in which ambitious organisational goals are created, internal capabilities nurtured, and dynamic metrics used to capture the
market shaping effect of mission oriented policies.
Available at: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/public-purpose/partnerships (Accessed 16 February 2018)
16
Goodsell, Ch. T. (2011) ‘Mission Mystique: Strength at the Institutional Center’, The American Review of Public Administration, 41(5), pp.
475–494.
17
An excellent example of how to bring expertise into public organisations is Public Practice in the UK, which seeks to bring back the expertise of
high level planners and architects into the innovation-led strategies of city level governments. See: http://www.publicpractice.org.uk (Accessed 1
February 2018)20
PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT
The issue of public engagement and relevance and commitment and to prevent
missions is crucial because of the symbiotic selection being captured by either passing
nature of the relationship between the fashion or vested interests.
two. Missions provide a straightforward
explanation to the public of how diverse, Public participation in the selection process
and sometimes difficult to understand, must be followed by public inclusion in the
developments in research and innovation implementation. Keeping society informed of
contribute to a better society. In addition, progress and achievement of intermediate
the potential impact of missions is much milestones, for example using social media
higher when they inspire and engage or community based workshops, could
widespread support. play a role in maintaining broad interest
and thus incentivising continuation of
Missions must be framed within challenges the mission. The opportunities for such
that are broadly agreed to be of high engagement will of course differ depending
societal importance. This will ensure their on the nature of the mission, but some
longevity and survival across political form of genuine participation of civil
cycles as well as contributing to their society organisations in concrete projects
success. It will ensure that citizens can within a mission will be crucial to facilitate
clearly see the benefits that European open dialogues on expected outcomes
research and innovation in particular, and and practical applicability of solutions.
EU intervention in general, bring to their Furthermore, as missions are cross-actor
lives and communities. In order to capture and cross-discipline, social innovation
this, meaningful public participation in the will be a key element of implementation.
selection process of missions is a pre- Citizens can possibly be mobilised to
requisite. become active participants in missions, for
example by cleaning plastics from beaches
Therefore, even though the nature of or by providing real-time monitoring data as
missions requires that they be selected at enabling technologies develop and become
the political level, the selection process must more universally present in society.
have a strong element of public involvement.
This is both because innovation benefits Furthermore, innovation often finds its true
from multiple and diverse influences, and purpose in the hands of consumers who
also because without civic engagement, the work out what a technological innovation
risk of alienation from the broader public is really capable of or what it can be used
and a purely technocratic approach is too for. Innovation is still born until people find
high. A mission will not inspire people unless a way to fit it into their lives. So while it is
they are part of it. A rigorous process of important that missions pervade the supply
evaluation is needed to ensure continuing side of innovation (driving communities21
of knowledge to bring about important
changes), innovation can also come from
the demand side (people discovering what
a technology is for in the process of using
it, or solving important problems they face).
Indeed, there is lots of evidence from within
innovation processes that this interaction
between supply side and demand side is
vital to the success of missions18.
All available and proven channels of
communication with citizens should be
explored so citizens can feel enthusiasm
and trust in the process of change. The
precise constellations of civil society, public
and private actors that should be involved
will only be fully developed when particular
missions are selected.
18
For ideas on how the web can be used to increase demand side participation, see Leadbeater, C. (2009), We-Think, UK: Profile Books22
EXAMPLE
MISSIONS OF THE FUTURE
This report is not designed to decide what the future European research and innovation
missions should be, but rather to offer guidance in their selection and implementation.
It is useful, nonetheless, to provide some examples of how to define missions, based on
the criteria described in this report. The three examples below are solely for pedagogical
use. They are not, and nor are they intended to be, scientifically, technically, or otherwise
complete. For each of the three examples, the five criteria for mission-setting, as
described above, are exemplified and illustrated.
Grand
Challenge
CLIMATE CHANGE
100 CARBON NEUTRAL CITIES BY 2030
Mission
Reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions balance of 100
European cities by 2030
Real Estate Energy Mobility Social Sector
Areas of interest
& cross-sector Construction Behavioural
Environment Food
materials econ
Citizen
Buildings carbon-ID:
R&I Projects with e-government
carbon-absorbing streamlining
components of carbon
Carbon neutral
urban footprint
Clean urban food industry
electric mobility connecting city
and agriculture23
100 CARBON NEUTRAL carbon-ID in the real estate market and
CITIES BY 2030 daily purchases), will be essential. Such
knowledge-based research and innovation
could work in conjunction with regulatory
1. BOLD, INSPIRATIONAL WITH WIDE and governance actions to see that the
SOCIETAL RELEVANCE mission target is reached.
By 2030, 80% of European citizens will
live in cities. European values, culture and 4. CROSS-DISCIPLINARY,
productivity are closely related to cities. CROSS-SECTOR AND
Cities are important drivers of innovation; CROSS–ACTOR INNOVATION
they have close interactions with citizens Cities play an important yet different role in
and have the ability to test solutions at the life of all actors of society and therefore
scale. By turning 100 cities across Europe need the involvement of engineers, social
into fully carbon-neutral places to live workers, planners, environmental scientists,
and work, about 40% of European urban data analysts, economists, citizens, policy
citizens could benefit from cleaner air and makers and other actors. To achieve carbon
Europe would take a major step forward neutrality in cities, these actors need to
in achieving the objectives of the Paris collaborate across sectors, such as urban
Climate Agreement. planning, construction, energy efficiency
in buildings, mobility, behavioural aspects,
2. A CLEAR DIRECTION: food, environmental capacity etc. while
TARGETED, MEASURABLE AND incorporating cross-disciplinary research
TIME-BOUND such as urban planning, energy efficiency in
One hundred cities reaching a net zero buildings, mobility, consumer behaviour and
greenhouse-gas-emission balance by innovative business.
2030 is a concrete target that can be
definitively measured. Different timelines 5. MULTIPLE, BOTTOM-UP SOLUTIONS
and intermediate milestones can be used Carbon neutrality in cities can only be
for cities of different size or economic basis. reached through a systemic approach
including all the different activities and
3. AMBITIOUS BUT REALISTIC functions of urban areas. This requires
RESEARCH & INNOVATION ACTIONS a multitude of research and innovation
Research and innovation activities across projects, combined with policy, governance
the entire innovation chain are essential and civil engagement, that may have specific
to reach a carbon-neutral balance for objectives (such as facilitating domestic use
cities. Collaboration and feedback loops of renewable energy, incentivising electro-
between basic research (such as the mobility or developing materials for energy
carbon-absorption capacity of construction efficient building, etc.), but that need to be
materials), applied research (such as aligned and interact with one another to
sustainable urban mobility and freight multiply the overall impact.
options), and social, entrepreneurial
innovation (such as incorporating citizen24
Grand
Challenge
CLEAN OCEANS
A PLASTICFREE OCEAN
Mission Reduction of 90% of plastics entering the marine environment
and collection of more than half of plastics present in our oceans,
seas and coastal areas by 2025
Chemical Social Biotech Human
Areas of interest industry innovation health
& cross-sector
Marine life AI technology Design Waste
Sector management
R&I Projects
Autonomous
Re-usable and Plastic and
ocean stations
biodegradable micro plastic
to remove
plastic digestion
plastic
substitutes mechanism
pollution
Re-use of Image recognition
packing items and deep learning
through waste separation
personalised system for
collection domestic and
services marine waste
A PLASTIC-FREE OCEAN existing plastic pollution must be removed
from the ocean and second, new ways must
1. BOLD, INSPIRATIONAL WITH WIDE be found to curtail the entry of new plastic
SOCIETAL RELEVANCE waste to the oceans. Drastically reducing
Every year, Europeans generate 25 million the amount of plastic that enters and floats
tonnes of plastic waste, of which less in the oceans will have a substantial impact
than 30% is recycled. Plastic makes up on the health of European citizens, marine
85% of beach litter. There are two strands life and the environment. This mission
to tackling plastic ocean pollution. First would be closely aligned with the objectives25
of the recently adopted Plastics Strategy19 4. CROSS-DISCIPLINARY,
creating an important interaction between CROSS-SECTORAL AND
research and innovation activities and CROSS-ACTOR INNOVATION
policy development. Oceans are a source of life for society.
Many different actors of society will need
2. A CLEAR DIRECTION: to be involved (such as chemical engineers,
TARGETED, MEASUREBLE AND marine biologists, marketing experts,
TIME-BOUND environmental scientists, earth observation
This mission could have a clear target to specialists, fishermen, citizens at large,
reduce the amount of plastic entering etc.). These different actors will need to
the marine environment by 90%; and of collaborate across sectors such as chemical,
collecting more than half of the plastic biotech, marine life, consumer goods,
currently present in our oceans, seas and Artificial Intelligence, health, design, waste
coastal areas. This would mean stopping at — while incorporating cross-disciplinary
least 7.2 million tonnes of plastic entering research such as product design, in
the marine environment and collecting at particular design for the food processing
least 2 million tonnes of plastic per annum chain (packaging of food), cosmetics, tyres
from oceans, seas and coastal areas. A very and textiles.
ambitious, yet achievable timeline to reach
this target would be circa 5-10 years. 5. MULTIPLE, BOTTOM-UP SOLUTIONS
Removing plastics from the ocean is such a
3. AMBITIOUS BUT REALISTIC large and complex exercise, that it could not
RESEARCH & INNOVATION ACTIONS be achieved by a single technological (or
Research and innovation activities across policy) solution. It will require a combination
the entire innovation chain would be of various solutions, focusing on different
essential to reach a plastic-free ocean. facets of the problem, which will need
Research actions would also need to target to be coordinated in order to reinforce
the reduction of impact of marine litter on each other. Interaction between projects,
human and animal health. Collaboration and experimentation and risk-taking, can
and feedback loops between basic increase additionality. For example, an
research (such as chemical research on autonomous ocean plastics management
characteristics of plastic), applied research station might take time to implement, but
(such as biotech applications in packaging the knowledge base for this station could be
design) and entrepreneurial innovation (such used to inform a hybrid, plastics-digestion
as on-sea plastic collection stations) will be mechanism, which could be implemented
essential. Such knowledge-based research first, possibly in the form of distributed
and innovation could work in conjunction nets. This might kick-start an innovative and
with regulatory and governance actions to more efficient way of overall ocean plastics
see that the mission target is reached. removal.
19
European Commission (2018) European Strategy for Plastics. Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/plastic_waste.htm
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