In a recent report, OECD (2021) outlines different types of MDI policy. The Vinnova initiative can be categorized as an ‘ecosystem-based mission program, which is slightly different from other types of mission-led policy, e.g. overarching mission-oriented strategic frameworks or thematic mission-oriented programs. OECD (2021) describes the ecosystem-based mission program as allowing “stronger directionality and legitimacy by delegating responsibilities related to strategic orientation to relevant community (or ecosystems) of stakeholders in priority or emerging areas. One of the main added values of this type of MDI is to engage wider participation and significant investment from a variety of partners in initiatives that build on the strategic agenda they have collectively designed.”
In 2021 researchers from the Stockholm School of Economics – Anna Essén, Karl Wennberg and Anna Krohwinkel – were commissioned by Vinnova, Sweden’s innovation agency, to propose an evaluation framework of Vinnova-funded innovation milieus (or mission-driven environments, MDEs). The work focused on ‘Vision-Driven Health’, which was initiated in 2019 to support the development of inter-organisations and cross-disciplinary consortia to work towards a common vision and a long-term systemic transformation within the Swedish healthcare and life science sector.
To assist the research team, four senior advisors followed the project and provided their critical input based on their insights of the Swedish healthcare system as well as broader issues related to the policy evaluations from different perspectives. Jelena Angelis from EFIS Centre was part of this advisory group bringing her expertise in innovation policy design, evaluation and impact assessments.
The research team has extensively discussed their final report “Assessing whether Mission-driven innovation makes a difference – Mission impossible? Developing a guiding framework for the evaluation of five mission-driven environments for health in Sweden” with Vinnova.
“Jelena’s experience in designing and evaluating innovation policies was very valuable as we worked on our report. With her insight into the European scene regarding innovation policy, research consortia/infrastructures, and the complexity of public/private partnerships, which all relate to the kind of vision-driven innovation environments in focus, her comments enriched the report greatly.” (Anna Essén, Project Leader and Associate Professor at the Stockholm School of Economics)
