Improved policies for more innovation

The EU’s Horizon 2020 framework programme promises to be the most ambitious yet in terms of bringing positive change to Europe. This, however, must be backed by the right mix of policies to ensure the programme’s unhindered success. In this vein, the EU-funded SIMPATIC (Social impact policy analysis of technological innovation challenges) project worked on supporting research and innovation policies in different European countries.

To achieve its aims the project conducted evidence-based policy analysis and assessed the impact of research and innovation policies. It documented new evidence to support research and innovation policies in order to enhance the EU 2020 strategy. This involved documenting the success and failure of research and innovation policies both at a national level and at the EU level.

The project built its evidence by analysing research and development subsidies and tax credits to update existing models and methodologies for simulating the impact of research and innovation policy on growth and jobs. This can unlock the development of better research policies that can support growth, as well as other EU priorities such as social inclusion and the environment.

The project team went a step beyond measuring growth and competitiveness to include environmental and social dimensions in policy impact such as climate change and social cohesion. It combined micro and macro approaches to assess the impact of innovation policies both quantitatively and qualitatively more accurately and with more depth.

This was achieved through several conferences and workshops involving a broad spectrum of stakeholders. The project’s results were disseminated via events and publications, as well as six policy reports that targeted concerned stakeholders and policymakers. These reports and key conclusions will no doubt contribute to a healthier European economic and industrial policy in research and innovation.