Junge Frau mit VR-Brille

Innovation Policy Focus Area

Innovations can help solve societal problems and boost economic competitiveness – in the right policy environment. We develop solutions for innovation strategies, policies and institutions that put innovation at the service of society.

Foto Daniel Schraad-Tischler
Dr. Daniel Schraad-Tischler
Director
Foto Jan C. Breitinger
Dr. Jan C. Breitinger
Senior Project Manager
Foto Norbert Osterwinter
Norbert Osterwinter
Project Manager
Foto Daniel Posch
Daniel Posch
Project Manager
Foto Susanne Kreft
Susanne Kreft
Project Assistant

Our mission

A broad range of innovations are needed to ensure that Germany remains economically competitive. We must foster technological, economic and social innovation in order to address the challenges facing society today. However, Germany has yet to fully develop the economic and policy environment needed to nurture these innovations. Entrepreneurial activity and efforts to solve social problems are too seldom effectively linked, and innovation policy measures are rarely focused on addressing societal needs and interests.

Sustaining a highly innovative economy and society demands the presence of outstanding research institutions and creative companies. Yet it also requires an ambitious innovation policy that sets strategic goals, provides effective funding instruments and creates high-impact institutions. In order to address the major challenges facing society today, we need a mission-oriented innovation policy that empowers and further develops Germany's research and innovation communities. As these challenges grow increasingly urgent, so too does the need to revise Germany’s innovation policy so that it can become a driver of sustainable transformation.

Our approach

In our “Innovation Policy” focus area, we explore how this new policy might be developed. How can we make innovation the driver of both societal change and economic competitiveness, and how can we ensure that innovation policy is guided by this principle? What institutions can effectively and efficiently implement a mission-oriented innovation policy? How can we ensure that transformative change is participatory and values-based?

A specific focus of our work lies in developing institutional solutions that enable a targeted implementation of mission-oriented innovation policy in Germany. Our conception of innovation emphasizes the importance of working together across sectors and policy areas. We believe in harnessing the power of the market on behalf of social change objectives to create positive synergies. Successfully reformulating German innovation policy along these lines would represent a substantial step forward in accelerating innovation and enhancing entrepreneurialism across the country.

More focus areas of our work

We need an economic environment that nourishes greater innovation and creativity.

Reinhard Mohn

Founder