Missions demand ‘revolution’ in government, EU adviser says

The European Commission has been told that its high hopes for mission-driven science will be dashed unless governments change their ways, and the warning comes from its own special adviser on missions.

“I’d say this requires a revolution in most governments to make it work,” Mariana Mazzucato said in an interview with the Commission’s in-house research and innovation magazine Horizon, published on 4 July.

“Governments are going to have to change how they do prize schemes, how they design procurement, how they think of budgeting, how they think of evaluation if they want to take part in this wonderful European instrument,” she said.