Innovation policy ‘should look beyond economy’

Innovation policy should be designed to look beyond economic growth and address societal implications, such as health outcomes and climate change, an innovation policy conference has been told.

The European Forum for Studies of Policies for Research and Innovation conference was held in Helsinki, Finland from 9 to 11 June, and brought together about 200 academics and government officials to discuss developments in innovation policy research.

Jan Fagerberg, an innovation researcher at the University of Oslo, told the meeting that Europe’s recovery from the economic crisis should not come at the expense of addressing other issues, such as climate change. He said that the solution to what he called a triple challenge — economic decline, climate change and governance crisis — was for the EU to launch a programme targeting the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, especially in poorer member states.