IGL2018 brought together senior policymakers, practitioners and researchers from across the globe to explore future innovation and entrepreneurship policies.

Nesta's Innovation Growth Lab (IGL), in partnership with the Laboratory for Innovation Science at Harvard, J-PAL, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the World Bank Group and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and with the support of the Global Entrepreneurship Research Network, held its annual conference in Boston, MA on June 12-14 at the Harvard Business School (12 & 14 June) and MIT (13 June).

Programme highlights
12 June 2018

IGL Research Meeting 

  • A forum for researchers to discuss design-stage, ongoing and completed academic research that uses experimental methods in innovation, entrepreneurship and growth.
13 June 2018

IGL Global Conference

  • Inspiring keynotes about state-of-the-art policies and programmes.
  • Focused and interactive sessions showcasing the latest evidence.
  • Discussions on the role experimentation can play in this policy field.
14 June 2018

IGL Policy and Practice Learning Lab

  • Brings together policymakers and practioners to discuss the latest developments in experimentation.
  • Hands-on capacity-building workshops.
  • Learn first-hand from the experiences of other organsiations from around the world.
Confirmed speakers for IGL2018
John Van Reenen
Professor of Management and Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA)
Dyan Finkhousen
Director, Open Innovation & Advanced Manufacturing, GE Global Operations (USA)
Karim Lakhani
Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School (USA)
Jenn Gustetic
Program Executive, Small Business Innovation Research, NASA (USA)
Iqbal Dhaliwal
Executive Director, Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (USA)
William Maloney
Chief Economist, Equitable Growth, Finance and Institutions, World Bank Group (USA)
César Hidalgo
Associate Professor of Media Arts and Science, MIT and Director, Collective Learning Group, MIT Media Lab (USA)
Jennifer Vey
Senior Fellow, Metropolitan Policy Program, The Brookings Institution (USA)
Chandra Briggman
Director, Venture Cafe Kendall
Jon Baron
Vice President of Evidence-Based Policy, The Arnold Foundation (USA)
Kelly Bidwell
Director, Office of Evaluation Sciences, General Services Administration (USA)
Katy Börner
Professor of Engineering and Information Science, Indiana University (USA)
Miriam Bruhn
Senior Economist, The World Bank (USA)
Steve Rader
Deputy Manager, NASA Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation (USA)
Geoff Mulgan
Chief Executive, Nesta, (UK)
Kirsten Bound
Executive Director of Research, Analysis, and Policy, Nesta (UK)
Alfonso Gambardella
Professor, Bocconi University (Italy)
Juan Mateos-Garcia
Head of Innovation Mapping, Nesta (UK)
Albert Bravo-Biosca
Director, Innovation Growth Lab, Nesta (UK)
Ina Ganguli
Assistant Professor of Economics, University of Massachusetts at Amherst (USA)
Tera Allas
Senior Fellow and Director of Research, McKinsey Center for Government (UK)
Balaji Bondili
Head, Deloitte Pixel, Enterprise Crowdsourcing (USA)
Sameeksha Desai
Director of Knowledge Creation and Research, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation (USA)
Rodney Ghali
Assistant Secretary, Cabinet of the Impact and Innovation Unit, Privy Council Office (Canada)
Gary Gray
Director of Technology and Innovation, Harvard Catalyst, The Harvard Clinical and Translational Science Center (USA)
Sandrine Kergroach
Senior Economist, Policy Analyst, OECD (France)
Sam Liss
Executive Director, Strategic Partnerships, Harvard Office of Technology Development (USA)
Lesley Millar-Nicholson
Director of Technology Transfer Office, MIT (USA)
Mike Morris
CEO, Topcoder (USA)
Jonathan Ortmans
President, Global Entrepreneurship Network (USA)
Laura Rosendahl Huber
Senior Research Fellow, Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition (Germany)
Chad Syverson
Eli B. and Harriet B. Williams Professor of Economics, University of Chicago Booth School of Business (USA)
Paulina Villa
Medellin's Innovation District Manager, Ruta N (Colombia)
Sarah Weisberg
Chief Scientist, Biobus (USA)
John Williams
Director of Innovation and Technology, Small Business Administration (USA)
Christy Wyskiel
Senior Advisor to the President, Head of John Hopkins Technology Ventures, John Hopkins University (USA)
Eva Camerer
Head of Innovation Policy and Analysis, Innovation Norway (Norway)
Mark Zachary Taylor
Associate Professor, Georgia Institute of Technology (USA)
Highlights from IGL2018

 

Event photos from IGL2017
What people are saying
"Overall, the conference was a great opportunity to mingle with an international audience of academics, public officials, businesses, NGOs and others at the forefront of innovation. If you are thinking of attending IGL2018 - scheduled to take place in Boston next year - I would highly recommend it."
IGL2017 delegate
“The cross-pollination is an element of the IGL conference that I find very appealing: you get in contact with people from very different fields and this facilitates the generation of new ideas (outside the box).”
IGL2017 delegate
"This was a great conference filled with opportunities to learn about current research and practice while meeting some wonderful people doing really interesting work. I look forward to the next conference."
IGL2017 delegate
"Like fine tapas, IGL 2017 offered something for everyone. The agenda was smartly constructed, showcasing the latest developments in innovation and experimental research, and evolving from a traditional plenary-parallel session format on day one to interactive workshops on day two."
IGL2017 delegate
"Kudos on an incredibly well-executed conference. The content was incredibly relevant and insightful and I met some very interesting people there – well done!"
IGL2017 delegate
"Thanks for the conference last week. It was very informative and generated some ideas for me that I will pursue with colleagues. I intend to keep myself informed of the work of IGL and its developments and will continue to look for opportunities that may lead to us having a more substantial involvement."
IGL2017 delegate
Event details
Tuesday 12 June 2018
Aldrich Hall, Harvard Business School
IGL Research Meeting
Wednesday 13 June 2018
MIT Building E14
IGL2018 Global Conference
Thursday 14 June 2018
Batten Hall, “The Hives”, Harvard Business School
IGL Policy and Practice Learning Lab