Examining Proto-Missions: The Models Spurring Innovation in Development Today

Mission-Oriented Innovation Policies (MOIPs) are one approach that can advance the required transformations. As our colleague Philippe Larrue noted in a 2021 paper, MOIPs are "a co-ordinated package of policy and regulatory measures tailored specifically to mobilise science, technology and innovation in order to address well-defined objectives related to a societal challenge, in a defined timeframe".

As MOIPs gain considerable traction across the European Union, they may also be a key piece of the puzzle that produces thriving economies in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In light of our planet's boundaries and the need to address social development challenges, the objective cannot be to grow for growth's sake. Instead, the aim should be to achieve a certain type of economic advancement that simultaneously pursues environmental sustainability and improvements in the standard and quality of people's lives. In this context, MOIPs create a new paradigm: from governments seeking to simply fix failing markets to one in which the public sector actively encourages the innovation process by shaping and creating technologies, sectors and markets.