The Transformative Innovation Policy Consortium (TIPC) is a multi-country initiative dedicated to unlocking the power of science, technology and innovation to achieve socio-technical system change and a sustainable future.
TIPC unites policymakers, researchers, investors and funders. Together we aim to:
- Develop a new narrative for science, technology and innovation (STI) policy – one that does not focus on maximising economic growth but instead establishes STI as a crucial element in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
- Build demonstrators through experiments that illustrate how to approach, implement and evaluate Transformative Innovation Policy (TIP).
- Generate a global community of practice that applies and enhances TIP and its principles.
TIPC members and partners co-create a programme of work that includes experimentation, research, training and capability building – underpinned by Hubs, open-access resources in the TIP Resource Lab and a thriving global Knowledge Community.
TIPC is coordinated by the Science Policy Research Unit at the University of Sussex Business School (SPRU), in partnership with the Joint Research Centre of the Spanish National Research Council and the Polytechnic University of Valencia (INGENIO CSIC-UPV) and the Utrecht University Centre for Global Challenges (UGlobe).
Learn more about TIPC members and partners.
WHAT IS TRANSFORMATIVE INNOVATION POLICY?
Transformative Innovation Policy (TIP) refers to a strategic and proactive approach to shaping innovation in ways that drive substantial and positive changes in society, the economy, and the environment. It goes beyond traditional innovation policies that focus solely on economic growth and technological advancements. TIP seeks to address complex societal challenges, promote sustainability, and foster inclusive development by encouraging innovation that leads to socio-technical system change.
Key characteristics of Transformative Innovation Policy include:
- Societal impact: TIP aims to create innovations that address pressing social and environmental challenges, such as climate change, growing global inequality and biodiversity loss. But also access to healthcare, food and water.
- Systems approach: Instead of focusing on individual technologies or sectors, TIP takes a holistic view, considering the interplay between various elements within socio-technical systems.
- Long-term vision: TIP looks beyond short-term gains and considers the long-term impacts of innovation on society, seeking to create lasting positive changes.
- Multi-stakeholder collaboration: TIP involves collaboration among policymakers, researchers, industries, communities, and civil society to co-create innovative solutions.
- Experimentation: TIP encourages trying out new approaches, methods, and interventions through experiments to learn what works best in achieving transformative outcomes.
- Diverse perspectives: TIP incorporates a range of perspectives, including social, economic, environmental, and ethical considerations, to ensure that innovation benefits a wide range of stakeholders.
- Equity and inclusion: TIP strives to ensure that the benefits of innovation are accessible and equitable for all segments of society, including marginalised communities.
- Learning and adaptation: TIP involves a continuous learning process, where insights gained from experiments and feedback loops inform policy adjustments as well as the TIPC approach itself.
In essence, Transformative Innovation Policy seeks to harness the power of innovation to address global challenges and drive positive transformations. It moves beyond incremental improvements and aims to reshape entire systems to create a more sustainable, equitable, and prosperous future.
Learn more about the research behind Transformative Innovation Policy.
TRANSFORMATIVE INNOVATION POLICY IN PRACTICE: THE TIP RESOURCE LAB
The TIP Resource Lab, which was launched in March 2023, provides an extensive tool box for every step along the way towards developing and implementing transformative innovation policy. Component One of the Resource Lab focuses on laying out the groundwork for developing a systemic lens. It sheds light on how to develop an understanding for systems, how to create a vision for change, the role of anticipation and ultimately developing a transformative theory of change.
For watching back all parts of the TIP Resource Lab launch event and to learn more about its various components, this blog post provides an extensive recap.