Europe: from business to social innovation

“Europe has strong traditions in social innovation but now lags behind as its ability to effect change in society is slower. The next 10 years requires as much attention to developing a social innovation system as in the last 20 years on developing the R&D based innovation system. A new agenda is needed for public services: moving away from the command and control paradigm towards one capable of delivering public value through collaboration, innovation and participation”, says the document “Reinventing Europe through innovation”, published by the Business Panel on Future EU Innovation Policy to trigger the online consultation on EU’s post 2010 strategy. 

This independent panel, which I chair, was created by European Commission's Directorate General of Enterprise to provide inputs on priorities for future EU innovation policy.

The panel is due to provide a final report to the new European Commission in early Autumn 2009 which is intended to provide a major input to a new European Innovation Plan.

The five key orientations proposed by the panel are

1.      Broaden the concept of innovation (From business to social innovation)  

2.      Speed and synchronisation (From fragmented bureaucracies to flexible partnerships, from better regulation to pro-innovation regulation)

3.      Invest in future infrastructure and unlock its potential (From bridges to fibre optic, from control to open access)

4.      Innovative financing models (From incumbents to new entrants; from public vs. private to public private partnerships)

5.      New places for new types of collaborations (From closed processes to the power of networks)”

Some of the specific proposals include:

a)     Base EU action around compelling social challenges, such as chronic disease and other implications of our ageing society; interculturalism and hyper-diversity; climate change; environmental protection; and unemployment.

b)     Finance social innovation funds, through a new partnership between the European Commission and European Investment Bank (EIB).

c)      Incentivise large scale community level innovations, through the EU structural funds and EU level recognition.

d)     The EU to set clear innovation targets focusing on major social challenges of relevance across the EUe)     Ambitious European initiatives must be synchronised actions around  the major challenges, engaging actors across the innovation chain, coordinating supply and demand of innovations, and involving public sector reform.

f)       A major development of the European Investment Fund (EIF), in partnership with the European Investment Bank (EIB) and European Commission with a mandate to create new models to fund trans-national partnerships, corporate venturing and societal innovation funds. 

The interactive consultation debate  on the future EU innovation policy will be open until 31 August 2009. The results of the debate will feed into the Panel's final report, which will also provide underpinning evidence and rationales for the panel’s ideas and recommendations.

To kick off the debate,  Europe Unlimited and Business Europe are hosting a Consultation Debate on 22 July 2009 from 4 to 6pm, at the Business Europe office, Av. de Cortenbergh 168, BE -1000 Brussels.

Speakers include John Kao (author of “Innovation Nation”), Geoff Mulgan (Director da Young Foundation), myself, Ann Mettler (Director of Lisbon Council),  Prof Andreas Pyka (President of Lisbon Civic Forum), Peter Droell (Director of Innovation at DG Enterprise), William Stevens (CEO Europe Unlimited) and Daniel Cloquet (Director of Business Europe). Info and registration here

I encourage you to participate on this relevant debate.

Click on http://blogs.ec.europa.eu/innovationunlimited  and have you say on “Reinventing Europe through innovation”.