Technology Transfer Offices (TTOs) are intermediaries that help universities commercialize their research outputs and foster economic competitiveness. However, in recent years, TTOs have also been called upon expanding their scope and mission in order to engage in the diffusion of transformative innovation; that is, innovation that aims at tackling grand societal challenges like climate change, …
Are grand challenge-oriented innovation policy instruments involving new types of R&I actors? This is the question that my colleague David Howoldt and I explored in our recent article published in the journal Industry and Innovation. Grand challenges are complex social problems, such as climate change, environmental sustainability, ageing societies, or neglected diseases. Traditionally, R&I innovation … Continue reading
Denmark’s future massive investments in green technologies aim at fostering its industry’s competitiveness and mitigating climate change. And it is a turning point for the country’s innovation policy as well. Since its new “Climate law” of December 2019, the Danish government has been busy planning a number of large investments in green technologies. The Covid-19 … Continue reading
The Covid-19 pandemic is no longer a global health crisis alone. It is also a socio-economic crisis, on the top of an environmental crisis. Few days ago, the OECD organized a virtual workshop bringing together national policy makers and experts in research and innovation (R&I) policies. The leading questions formulated by the organizers were: What … Continue reading
During the past decade there has been a call for acknowledging the entrepreneurial and directional role of the state in transformative innovation policy. However, the state might not only be acting in the single direction towards creating technological infrastructure or creating new markets: the state has other roles, but these remain largely under-explored. In a … Continue reading
In the midst of the Covid-19 global crisis it has become obvious that research and innovation has to be put at the service of solving grand challenges like this one. Research and innovation is not only for the sake of advancing the frontiers of human knowledge, nor only for the sake of improving companies’ competitiveness … Continue reading
Susana Borras Blog 