Strategic Economics Alliance (SEA)

The Strategic Economics Alliance (SEA) is committed to bridging the gap between new economic theory and real-world practice by creating spaces for bidirectional learning between economists, policymakers, and practitioners. SEA is about brining a “new sea of voices” focused on amplifying the voices of women economists from the Global South, ensuring that economic policymaking is shaped by grounded expertise, new theories of development and growth, and attention to lived experiences.

SEA focuses on translating economic theory into actionable policies, fostering a deeper understanding within the New Economic Thinking (NET) community of the necessity of embedding different theoretical frameworks, and proactive participatory processes in economic policymaking. Anchored in the practical work of the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP), and led by Professor Mazzucato, SEA informs policy design by incorporating local knowledge and lived experiences to shape IIPP’s policy work on green industrial strategy, green finance, and reimagined development models.

By positioning itself at the nexus of global networks of progressive economic thinkers, SEA not only builds stronger linkages between leading scholars and practitioners but also facilitates strategic collaborations that help embed transformative economic practices across diverse contexts.

Our Vision

We envision a global economic system that places people and the planet at its core, moving beyond traditional theories that treat systemic issues like climate change and inequality as externalities. Our goal is to revise economic theory and practice through holistic, inclusive, and sustainable approaches.

New Theory
We advocate for an economic framework that recognizes the collective creation of value and the proactive role of public institutions in shaping markets. Our approach challenges dominant economic thinking and embraces complexity, uncertainty, and interdependence, aiming for a society where everyone can thrive. Co-creation is central to our methodology, ensuring diverse voices are integrated into the strategy and scope of our economy.

New Practice
We translate new theory into real-world contexts through practice-based theorizing, which allows us to develop, refine, and test new policies effectively. By empowering governments to actively shape their markets and promote green innovation, we can address global challenges and ensure sustainable development.

New Voices
We elevate historically marginalized voices, fostering a transnational alliance of change-oriented thinkers and practitioners. By prioritizing perspectives from diverse communities, we aim to advance co-created economic theories and practices that are just and equitable.

Gallery

Reflective Space with women economists and civil servants co-hosted by Gabriela Podcameni and the Institute for Applied Economic Research in Brasilia, 18 February 2025

Reflective Space with women economists co-hosted by Gabriela Dutrénit and Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana in Mexico City, 24 January 2025

History

Why within the IIPP? In the last years, countless initiatives, institutions and schools of thought have challenged mainstream economics given its failure to address the most pressing issues of our time – from social and health to climate crises. The UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP), founded by Professor Mariana Mazzucato in 2018, is at the forefront of this global debate on how to ensure that economies work for people and the planet and are proactively designed to be inclusive, sustainable and healthy. By collaborating with governments and multilateral organisations around the globe, it is advancing the necessary paradigm shift in economic theory and practice by reimagining the state’s role in the economy, from simply fixing market failures to actively creating a different type of capitalism. From Brazil to South Africa, to Colombia and Barbados, IIPP has co-designed and advanced modern industrial and innovation strategies oriented around climate and inclusion goals.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus established the all-female WHO Council on the Economics of Health for All to reframe health for all as a public policy objective and ensure that national and global economies and finance are structured to deliver on this ambitious goal. The Council’s final report Health for All: Transforming Economies to Deliver What Matters was published in May 2023 and is continuing to resonate with governments around the world – including in Brazil where the Portuguese translation was launched in September 2023 in partnership with the Ministry of Health and where it stands to influence Brazil’s G20 Presidency.

This background provides the perfect opportunity to harness the momentum and influence of the above initiatives, by continuing to build a global alliance of women economists from the Global South and North committed to advancing more inclusive and sustainable economies.

SEA's approach centres on bringing new economic theories to the forefront by facilitating direct engagement between innovative economists and practitioners. Building on IIPP’s methodology of practice-based theorising, SEA focuses on translating theory into practice and on strengthening the theory by drawing on real-world insights.

SEA is currently funded by Co-Impact. We are currently in search of further funding.

People

SEA is being launched in June 2024 and is led by Professor Mariana Mazzucato and Associate Professor Carolina Alves from the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose.

Co-Chairs:

Mariana Mazzucato, Professor in the Economics of Innovation and Public Value at the Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, University College London
Carolina Alves, Associate Professor in Economics at the Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, University College London

Advisory Board:

Jayati Ghosh, Professor of Economics at University of Massachusetts Amherst
Erika Kraemer-Mbula, Professor of Economics at the University of Johannesburg
Carlota Perez, Honorary Professor at Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, University College London and the Science Policy Research Unit at Sussex University
Bogolo Kenewendo, Regionalization & Just Transition Director; Special Adviser, UN Climate change High Level Champions; former Cabinet Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry in Botswana
Usha Rao, Former Under-Secretary-General and Associate Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Claudia Lopez, Former Mayor of Bogota, Colombia
Gabriela Ramos, Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences at UNESCO

Work-streams

SEA will have two core workstreams:

The Policy and Scaling Practice Workstream will create a space for shared learning on how to best translate new economic theory into practice in different contexts around the world. Leveraging the leadership of women in the frontlines of policymaking inspired by new economic thinking, this workstream will present an opportunity to ensure policy reflects the edge of knowledge to advance sustainable and inclusive economies.
The Academia and Theory Building Workstream will focus on creating the space for feeding lessons from existing policy engagements back into academic reflection, fostering new voices and new collaborations between economics departments globally, with a focus on amplifying new economic research from the Global South (e.g., through research outputs, PhD training, supervision and exchanges).

Based on the spirit of “learning by doing and then reflecting”, two different workstreams will feed off of each other while engaging in significant collaborative initiatives around the globe.

Our Alliances