Pioneering mission-oriented approaches to policymaking

Research led by UCL’s Professor Mariana Mazzucato has encouraged governments to move away from single-department policy approaches and instead think of societal issues as cross-sectoral ‘missions’.

This has led to the European Union (EU) creating a new €100 billion mission-oriented research and innovation programme, encouraged the UK government to take a mission-oriented approach to industrial policy worth more than £4 billion, and inspired the Scottish Government to redesign its new £2 billion Scottish National Investment Bank.  

The need for collaborative working across sectors 

Professor Mariana Mazzucato and her colleagues at UCL Bartlett’s Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP) have been at the forefront of championing ‘mission-oriented’ approaches to policymaking.

The research insights encourage policymakers to view broad challenges like climate change, poverty and inequality – which do not fit into single policy spheres – as ‘missions’, involving innovative and collaborative working across sectors. The approach positions the state as an active participant in creating innovation, co-shaping markets to achieve ambitious aims. 

Professor Mazzucato laid out her vision for innovative policymaking in her 2018 book ‘The Value of Everything’, which describes how governments can drive interaction between public, private, civil and third sector actors in a way which rewards value creation, not extraction.  

Further work with Professor Rainer Kattel (UCL IIPP) demonstrated the potential of mission-oriented approaches through historical precedent, and provided advice as to common challenges in public-private partnerships.

The pair advocate for the role of the state as a risk-taker and highlight its capacity to play a market-shaping role, rather than merely acting to address market failure. They developed a new framework to encourage innovative thinking and risk-taking through diverse project work to earn returns for the taxpayer.  

Incorporating missions-led policy throughout the EU  

In 2018, Professor Mazzucato was appointed as Special Advisor for the European Commission’s Mission-Driven Science and Innovation, with a remit to shape the EU’s new Research and Innovation programme. During this time, she authored two reports drawing on her earlier research: Mission-Oriented Research & Innovation in the European Union (2018) and Governing Missions (2019).  

Her work with the EU inspired the ambitious €100 billion Horizon Europe research innovation project, which was endorsed by the European Parliament on 17th April 2019, with IIPP’s missions approach at the centre of the project. This project represents a huge commitment to incorporate missions-led policy approaches throughout the EU.  

Addressing broader societal challenges 

In the UK, Professor Mazzucato worked with the UK government’s Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS), to advise on their new industrial strategy, Building a Britain Fit for the Future. 

IIPP established the UCL Commission on Mission-Oriented Innovation and Industrial Strategy (MOIIS) to develop policy solutions to address these challenges and in May 2018 then Prime Minister Theresa May cited the research when launching the Grand Challenge missions, supported by a £6 billion Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund. The move represented a significant shift from traditional, sector-based strategies to those designed specifically to address broader societal challenges. 

Finally, as economic advisor to the Scottish Government, Professor Mazzucato drew on her previous research to advocate for state investment as a critical component of mission-oriented innovation.

She drew up a framework for the new Scottish National Investment Bank (SNIB), outlining a blueprint for the SNIB’s £2 billion investments over the coming decade, which drew on her conceptualisation of the state as a risk taker.

This will provide mission-oriented businesses with an alternative source of sustainable finance and will fund projects that help Scotland meet its 2045 net zero target, tackle place-based inequality and foster innovation in the country’s businesses.  

Links

• Professor Mariana Mazzucato’s academic profile 
• Professor Rainer Kattel’s academic profile 
• UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose 
• The Bartlett, UCL Faculty of the Built Environment 
• The Bartlett REF 2021 

Image 

• Image credit: IIPP / UCL