Photo: UNECE Committee on Innovation, Competitiveness and Public-Private Partnerships (CICPPP), Palais des Nations in Geneva
In an era marked by interlocking crises and growing complexity, the need for bold, future-ready innovation policies is greater than ever.
Together with partners from industry, civil services, universities and multilateral institutions, the Transformative Innovation Policy Consortium (TIPC) at the University of Sussex Business School has contributed to a new UN Charter that provides guiding principles for policy makers working to create deep, long-lasting change in society.
The UN-ECE Transformative Innovation Charter was officially adopted at the 18th session of the Committee on Innovation, Competitiveness and Public-Private Partnerships in Geneva last week.
It is the culmination of two years’ work by members of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Transformative Innovation Network (ETIN), in which Sussex has played a steering role.
The Charter sets out a shared commitment to making innovation fairer and more sustainable, so that it can better address societal challenges such as climate change, inequality, and public health. It makes a case for policy makers to:
- Focus on people, institutions, and social systems, as well as technological progress and economic growth
- Connect areas such as health, food, trade, and the environment, to accelerate impact
- Experiment and adapt approaches to local realities, recognising that every country and region has its own history, challenges, and culture
- Create market demand for better, fairer, greener solutions
- Take a long-term view on finance and funding, finding new ways to evaluate policy impact along the way
The foundations for the Charter were laid down in the 2024 Brussels Action Forum, a multi-stakeholder dialogue that TIPC helped to deliver in partnership with UN-ECE, ETIN, and research centres and polcy units from the European Commission.
‘The adoption of the Charter marks a departure from traditional innovation policy, said Victoria Shaw, Programme Director for TIPC at the University of Sussex Business School. ‘It recognises the need to direct innovation towards changing everyday systems for a more sustainable future.’
The Business School is proud to have helped shape this new framework, which places people, place, and sustainability at the heart of innovation policy,’ said Professor Ingrid Woolard, Executive Dean.