EU innovation policy - a view from the inside
Dr. Peter Dröll, Director at European Commission's Research and Innovation Department
These are good times for innovation. Innovation has got a “cult-like” status. It is almost seen as a magic power to boost the economy and solve the big issues on our planet. However, as pointed out by Benoît Godin, for most of its history, innovation was associated with wrong behaviour, something heretical, to be forbidden and punished. Indeed, in its Greek origins, it means “introducing change to the established order”.
Innovation policy is, however, still young, starting in 1995. Its approach evolved, from linear, to a focus on networks and clusters, recognising the many feedback loops in the innovation system, to the mainstreaming of innovation to the cohesion funds and environment policies, and in 2010, with an Innovation Union strategy, covering not only the knowledge development and the private sector, but also the public sector with actions on innovation through the public sector as well as innovation in the public sector and the social innovators in the so-called third sector.
This seminar is about the EU's role in innovation policy, its current approach and an outlook to the future.
About the speaker
Peter Dröll is in charge of Industrial technologies in the European Commission's Research and Innovation Department. In this capacity, he oversees the optimal integration of Research and Innovation in the design and implementation of relevant EU policies that contribute to Europe's industrial and technological leadership.
His previous positions in the European Commission include financial control of the Joint-Research Centre, enforcement of EU environmental legislation, accession negotiations with Poland and coordination of the environment negotiations with all accession countries, Innovation Policy and European Research Area Policy. He was a Cabinet member of Enlargement Commissioner Günter Verheugen and Head of Cabinet of the Science and Research Commissioner Janez Poto?nik.
Peter is a lawyer by training with a doctorate degree in German constitutional law and European law. Before joining the European Commission in 1991, Peter worked as a lawyer in a German law firm.
Venue: Conference Room (0.16 & 0.17)
Date: 19 October 2017
Time: 12:00 - 13:00 CET
