In May 2016 IGL hosted its first annual Global Conference, to showcase the latest trends and cutting-edge ideas in innovation, entrepreneurship and growth policy, as well as to examine the power of experimentation to transform this space.
The conference, which took place on 25 May 2016, was themed “Making innovation and growth policy work”. It brought together leading policy makers, practitioners, and researchers to discuss how to develop more effective innovation, entrepreneurship and growth policies. The day featured inspiring keynotes about state-of-the-art policies and programmes, and discussions on the role that experimentation can play in this policy field – by enabling continuous learning in the early stage of the policy development cycle and by facilitating rigorous ex-post impact evaluation.
Speakers included:
- Dan Breznitz, Co-director of the Innovation Policy Lab, University of Toronto
- Iqbal Dhaliwal, Deputy Director and Global Head of Policy, J-PAL at MIT
- Ilona Lundström, Executive Director, Tekes
- Göran Marklund, Deputy Director General, VINNOVA
- David McKenzie, Lead Economist, World Bank
- Dane Stangler, Vice President of Research and Policy, the Kauffman Foundation
- Andrés Zahler, Head of Innovation, Chilean Ministry of Economy
See the programme for full list of speakers.
Pre- and Post-Conference Events
IGL Research Meeting - Tuesday 24 May 2016
On the day prior to the conference, we held the IGL Research Meeting, an international gathering of leading researchers to discuss academic research that uses experimental methods to improve our understanding of the drivers of innovation, entrepreneurship and growth, and what works in encouraging them. Presenters ranged from established researchers such as David McKenzie to advanced PhD students such as Rembrand Koning.
Policy & Practice Learning Lab - Thursday 26 May 2016
On the day following the conference, the Policy & Practice Learning Lab brought together policymakers and practitioners in discussing the latest developments in innovation, entrepreneurship and growth policy. The day focused on both pioneering new ideas in the field as well as the practical operational challenges that these programmes face. Topics covered included experimentation, challenge prizes, managing innovation agencies, innovation teams, accelerators, and the effective use of big data for policy development. We were pleased to have speakers such as Andrés Zahler (Head of Innovation, Chilean Ministry of Economy) and Pauline Tay (Deputy Director of Strategy/Innovation at the Singaporean National Research Foundation).
You can read more about the conference in our post-conference blogs.
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