Mission-Oriented Innovation Archives - Observatory of Public Sector Innovation

Closing the Gender Digital Divide: A Mission-Readiness Exploration in Latin America and the Caribbean

Nicole Paul — Wed, 17 Sep 2025 15:27:36 +0000

What conditions need to be in place to consider a mission-oriented innovation approach in a low or middle-income country? How can policy makers assess government capabilities, innovation ecosystem maturity and the international development cooperation sector dynamics to take informed decisions related to mission-oriented innovation? As the interest in mission-oriented innovation is growing among policymakers worldwide and in the development cooperation sector, there is a growing appetite in exploring how such concepts practically apply across high,...

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The Greening Lab in Lyon: A mission-oriented approach in practice

Mariana Mirabile — Thu, 13 Feb 2025 12:50:53 +0000

An interview with Patrick Vincent, Public Innovation Director at the Open Innovation Lab of the Metropole of Lyon (ERASME). The Metropole of Lyon, France’s second-largest public administration, has long fostered socio-environmental transitions through investments in soft mobility, urban climate resilience, sustainable food systems, and local solidarity. Yet, when tackling complex “wicked” problems, it often encounters what Patrick Vincent, Public Innovation Director at ERASME, described in our interview as “diminishing returns on investments and a ceiling...

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Missions & Transitions: Insights from the Netherlands

Daan Sillen — Wed, 22 Jan 2025 11:55:10 +0000

Systemic challenges like climate change, sustainable agriculture, and a future-proof and digital economy require governments to go beyond traditional approaches. At RVO, the Netherlands Entreprise Agency, we’ve embraced transition management and mission portfolio management to guide our role in these dynamic transitions. Our journey in operationalising these approaches has shown us that addressing complex societal challenges requires more than predefined frameworks or traditional approaches. By combining adaptive structures, continuous learning processes, and collaborative engagement, we...

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When to choose a ‘mission’ approach?

David Jonason — Mon, 16 Dec 2024 11:27:15 +0000

This post was co-authored by the experts from the OECD Mission Action Lab, a joint initiative of the OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation, the OECD Directorate of Public Governance, and the OECD Development Co-operation Directorate. In our work at the OECD Mission Action Lab, we frequently encounter a crucial question from policymakers: when is a mission an appropriate policy response? This a fair but difficult question to answer. Indeed, when well designed and...

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13 reasons why missions fail

Piret Tõnurist — Wed, 13 Dec 2023 10:02:56 +0000

This blog post was authored by experts from the OECD Mission Action Lab, a joint initiative of the OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation, the OECD Directorate of Public Governance and the OECD Development Co-operation Directorate. It has been 10 years since Professor Mariana Mazzucato’s influential book “Entrepreneurial State” came out. It has inspired the European Union, states, agencies, regions, and cities around the globe to launch missions and mission-oriented policies (and yes, these...

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Mission-oriented what? A brief guide to mission terminology

David Jonason — Wed, 13 Dec 2023 10:00:26 +0000

This blog post was authored by experts from the OECD Mission Action Lab, a joint initiative of the OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation, the OECD Directorate of Public Governance and the OECD Development Co-operation Directorate. Despite the concept’s widespread popularity, the terminology surrounding missions can come across as convoluted. This is understandable, given that the term – which denotes ambitious, time bound, cross-sectoral and measurable policy objectives to address grand societal challenges such...

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The Innovation Barometer: Measuring innovation in Finland

Matti Kuivalainen — Mon, 16 Jan 2023 05:00:00 +0000

Finland conducted its first public sector innovation barometer in the Central Government. The results are in and once again reaffirm that Finland gets many things right. 93% of organisations innovated during 2020-21. Innovation activities are motivated in particular by the needs of citizens and clients, productivity and new technologies. Drivers of innovation activities are also reflected in individual innovations and their effects. Innovation Barometer: what and why? The Innovation Barometer is the world’s first official...

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Examining proto-missions: The models spurring innovation in development today

Samuel Tran — Mon, 12 Dec 2022 08:33:01 +0000

The world is in a state of climate emergency, a ‘code red’ for humanity. The twin climate and biodiversity crises demand urgent, co-ordinated action to transform existing social-technological systems. Simply accelerating what we are doing now cannot avert the most catastrophic impacts of climate change. As Secretary-General António Guterres stated in his opening remarks at COP27, we need “a Pact in which developed and emerging economies unite around a common strategy and combine capacities and...

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OECD Survey Says: What mission-oriented innovators really want

Angela Hanson — Tue, 22 Mar 2022 17:48:53 +0000

One of the biggest challenges in taking a mission-oriented innovation approach is operationalising the ambitions in practice. While many missions have been announced – including missions to tackle climate change, enhance equality, reduce poverty, and many others – there is a lack of analytical reflection of what drives missions to success. To answer this question, the OECD Mission Action Lab and the Danish Design Centre conducted a survey in December 2021. Two hundred and twenty...

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Orientation Failure? Why Directionality Matters in Innovation Policy and Implementation

Mariam Tabatadze — Wed, 02 Feb 2022 10:08:55 +0000

This blog is part of a series introducing the OECD Mission Action Lab (MAL), an initiative supporting countries to turn mission-oriented innovation into action. Find out more about the OECD Mission Action Lab or contact us at missionlab@oecd.org. The Unevenly Distributed Future Picture two mules and a wooden wagon right next to a space rocket. Now picture a world in which the richest 1% have more than twice as much wealth as 6.9 billion people,...

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