While much has been written on the rationales and need for transformative innovation policies, there are still few studies or initiatives that provide an understanding of what is needed on part of policy and public administration to become more ‘transformational’. Particularly challenging is the question how to successfully phase out sectors with poor sustainable performances. This requires understanding of vested interests of incumbent industries, and careful consideration of how these resist and support systemic change. Little is known about good and bad policy practices when it comes to ‘industrial transitions’, i.e. the processes through which societies break away from declining sectors and activities, and chart actionable paths towards sustainable economic development without creating new inequalities. Our initiative therefore unites different stakeholders and communities with an interest in governance arrangements for facilitating challenge-led and transformation-oriented innovation, including both academic scholars as well as policy practitioners. Based on the research conducted in joint projects between MIPO, JRC and INTRANSIT on European policies for industrial transformation, the aim of the session proposed for the TIP Conference 2022 is to bring together policy officials in reflecting on the research results and each others experiences. In line with the ambition of creating knowledge infrastructures for sharing lessons, the envisaged policy panel helps to consolidate a network of policy makers that seek to become more transformative both in terms of how they operate as well as what they bring about.
Ref: #45