1 / 2023 // LEOPOLDINA / NEWS 11
Research Summit 2023 : Remove blockades , use opportunities
Guest article by Uwe Cantner , Chairperson of the Expert Commission on Research and Innovation
At times of crisis , we generally call for the state to act as the problem solver . Reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the war of aggression in Ukraine are evidence of this . Hope that the state will act as a problem solver by having a strong research and innovation policy ( R & I ) still exists for the transformations to come . However , these will still need to be orchestrated .
BY UWE CANTNER *
Discussions about the energy and mobility transition as well as the struggle for political initiatives to maintain technological sovereignty in key technologies have one thing in common : Their solution requires a multitude of technological and social innovations . These are often from different fields and need to interact effectively in terms of content and timing . How can this be achieved ? In these discussions , prominent international voices such as Marianna Mazzucato and Dani Rodrik represent the position of a very strong state that creates entirely new markets and acts in terms of industrial policy with its own commitment to innovation ( for profit ). Economy and society are not given much involvement in this area .
Indeed , a state à la Mazzucato and Rodrik can drive essential technological developments itself through entrepreneurialism and prescribe behavioural changes by regulation . However , in doing so it will stifle the creativity and engagement of companies and society . It is questionable whether a state can do without these qualities over the long term .
A better solution is a state which skilfully initiates changes in direction by way of a New Mission Orientation and trusts in the cooperation and creativity of actors in the economy and society . It thus sets clear goals ( missions ) for the
“ The state needs to be strategically clever with regard to research and innovation policies and resist the temptation to call the tune .”
Uwe Cantner Chairperson of the Expert Commission on Research and Innovation
Image : David Ausserhofer | EFI
necessary changes of direction that have been agreed to gether with society . These missions indicate future economic opportunities for ( often new ) companies .
A central task of the state is to formulate these missions in a way that is open to technology and thus open to results . When implementing them , however , it relies on the creativity , innovation and problem-solving ability of private actors and thus on market-based mechanisms of competition . The state can provide support to get activities going in these directions . For example , through the targeted public procurement of new technologies . Temporary protective measures for young technology and industries also help them take their first steps in competition . It is important that the interventions are catalytic , i . e . that they have a knock-on and accelerating effect and are then withdrawn . They must not develop into permanent interventions .
For these major projects to be successful , the state has to be strategically clever . Designing missions and accompanying transformation requires a governance structure , which develops and
implements mission strategies across ministries and conveys a high degree of commitment . In its recent reports ( 2022 and 2023 ), the Expert Commission on Research and Innovation ( EFI ) sets out what suitable governance for the New Mission Orientation might look like . Central elements are a Future Committee for Innovation and Transformation at the German Chancellery , which is responsible for strategy and interdepartmental mission teams at the ministries for implementing these strategies .
Based on this governance structure , the state can strategically align its R & I policy in an effective and , above all , orchestrated way . It needs to resist the temptation to call the tune . The music – the solutions to problems – will still largely come from competition and the interaction of economic and societal actors , with occasional nudges from the state .
* Uwe Cantner , since 2019 , has been Chairperson of the Expert Commission on Research and Innovation ( EFI ) appointed by the German government . He is Professor of Economics / Microeconomics at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena .