From June 5th – 7th, the European Forum for Studies of Policies for Research and Innovation (Eu-SPRI) hosted their annual conference at the University of Twente in Enschede, the Netherlands. This three-day conference aimed to identify and discuss the explicit and implicit, competing and complementary normative orientations that drive science, technology and innovation (STI) policy and research in the many contexts where it takes place.
TIPC’s Alejandra Boni and the Austrian Institute of Technology’s Matthias Weber hosted a session presenting the new European Hub (TRIP-EuHub) as a demonstrator of policy-research interaction. The session informed participants about the nascent network of European STI ministries, agencies, funders, and research organisations dedicated to transformative R&I policy for sustainable and equitable development. Also, the session involved discussions around the central goal of enhancing partnerships between STI policy research organisations and public administration in the field of STI to co-produce transformative R&I policy initiatives through different kinds of engagements.
The European Hub is a recent collaboration between TIPC and Eu-SPRI and is based on the TIPC model of experimentation and engagement. The official launch of the Hub will take place during the upcoming TIPC/ Deep Transitions Lab Engagement Week in September.
Throughout the Eu-SPRI conference, TIPC members, partners and allied knowledge networks were involved in a number of other conference sessions, including:
- Alejandra Boni, Míriam Acebillo-Baque, Diana Velasco and Jordi Molas-Gallart, in collaboration with the Government of Catalonia (Generalitat de Catalunya), presented three papers on the Shared Agendas approach. During this session, they reflected on the role of policy entrepreneurs, the formative evaluation approach and how it has contributed to the RIS3CAT strategy. Additionally, they shared insights on the impact of the Shared Agendas in shaping a more desirable and better future
- Cristian Matti (JRC) presented a session on navigating transformation and strategic foresight in innovation policy-making for addressing place-based societal challenges
- Alejandra Boni was a panellist for a plenary session on the future of the European R&I Framework Programme
- TIPC’s founder Johan Schot spoke during a plenary session on learning from science-policy interfaces to support next generation STI policies
