UCL Institute of Innovation & Public Purpose celebrates fifth anniversary

Held at a packed Gustave Tuck Lecture Theatre, the event also marked the 10th anniversary of Professor Mazzucato’s critically acclaimed book, The Entrepreneurial State. 

Part of the institute’s 2023 festival, 'The Entrepreneurial State 2.0 – Rethinking the State in the 21st century', the event was opened by UCL President & Provost Dr Michael Spence, who reflected on UCL’s founding principles, almost two centuries ago, and how this made UCL the rightful home of the IIPP. 

Dr Spence said: “[Those other institutions] were places of polite learning; UCL was to be a place of useful knowledge. It is UCL’s deep ethos of solutions-oriented research and education, that brings together the disciplines and does so in partnership with people outside the university, as well as in, that is deep in our DNA. 

“So it is not surprising that UCL is the home of IIPP and what a tremendous thing it is, that we are celebrating the tenth anniversary of Mariana’s remarkable book and the fifth anniversary of the founding of IIPP.”

The Provost added: “We are so proud that Mariana and the institute call UCL home, and think that in so many ways, the work of the institute really reflects what we are all about, and have been about for the almost 200 years.”

Professor Mazzucato expressed her pride in the institute and its work: “We set IIPP up in 2017 to change how governments understand their role in shaping economies that are conducive to human and planetary wellbeing – through cutting edge academic theory on the role of the state, and through policy work with partners around the world that is translating this theory into practice.” 

“Through our theoretical and practical work” she continued “we are changing how public value is imagined, practiced, and evaluated to tackle societal challenges. I could not be prouder of the work of the IIPP team – past and present – in making this goal a reality over its first 5 years.” 

Since IIPP was launched in 2018, Professor Mazzucato and her team have developed a powerful and influential economic approach, that puts missions at the heart of global innovation and growth policy.  

With this strategy and framework, IIPP has worked with a number of international organisations to develop more sustainable and innovative policies, including the World Health Organisation, the Scottish Government and the European Commission. 

The event featured a short film of compiled video messages from world leaders that IIPP has worked with over the past five years, including from Mia Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Senior Minister of Singapore, and Theresa Ribera, Vice-president of Spain and Minister for the Ecological Transition. They reflected on what the concept of The Entrepreneurial State means to them and how it has impacted their work. 

On the panel and Q&A, Professor Mazzucato was joined by some of IIPP’s international collaborators. These were Alicia Bárcena, former Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, Shiva Dustdar, Director and Head of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Institute, Nicola Sturgeon, former First Minister of Scotland and the Rt Hon. Lord Willetts FRS, President of the Resolution Foundation.

They were each asked to share their thoughts on The Entrepreneurial State and how it shaped their collaborations and work with IIPP

The IIPP has grown significantly since its launch and now consists of 60 research and professional services staff, has 78 students enrolled on its Masters of Public Administration (MPA) degree, and has 24 PhD students. 
 

Links: 

• Professor Mariana Mazzucato's academic profile 
• UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose
• UCL Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment