ECC 2021: Transformative Innovation Policy: Concepts, Methods and Policy Practices 

We are pleased to announce that the 2021 Eu-SPRI Early Career Conference (ECC) will take place in Paris, France, on 21-23 of October. We invite PhD candidates, post-doctoral and early career researchers to share and discuss their scientific contributions (papers) to Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) policies for forward-looking transformations. The expected and encouraged fields of study are sociology, economics, political science, geography, public policy and innovation studies; other fields are also considered.

The conference will consist of keynote talks, paper presentations, policy-practitioner panels, and a workshop on 'science-to-policy'. This ECC event is organized by the Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT), Center for Innovation Systems & Policy; the Université Gustave Eiffel (UGE), Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire Sciences, Innovations, Sociétés (LISIS), in collaboration with University of Vienna, Department of Geography and Regional Research and the Urban Europe Research Alliance (UERA).

Submission Guidelines

Early career researchers interested in participating in this ECC must submit an extended abstract (app. 1000 to max. 1500 words, including key references) as well as a short motivation letter (1-2 paragraphs, max 1 page) via the EasyChair system no later than 25th June 2021. The decision will be communicated to the authors by 30th July 2021. If accepted, full papers must be submitted 2 weeks prior to the conference (speed talk submissions only need to submit their presentation as pdf). 

Evaluation and selection criteria of submissions is based on academic quality, thematic relevance and motivation.

Early career researchers can choose one of the two following options to present their work: 1) full paper presentation (15-minute presentation followed by a discussion) or 2) speed talk (5-minute pitches, followed by discussion in break out groups). The audience is expected (and encouraged) to act as discussants.

A ‘science-to-policy’ training will be offered, and is aimed at developing early career researchers’ capacities to influence policy with their research.

More details on the conference formats can be found at the Conference website.

List of Topics

In recent years, we have seen various governments starting to make a conscious effort to address societal challenges in their Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) policies. There is a growing realization of the necessity of immediate and profound systemic change, in order to tackle the manifold global crises of our times. However, business-as-usual and one-size-fits-all approaches will not be successful in providing the most effective and suitable multi-level and place-based actions, policies and governance approaches that will substantially boost transformations in this respect. We also see this emerging in STS literature through the notion of ‘transformative STI policies’ (e.g. Diercks et al., 2019; Kuhlmann & Rip, 2018; Schot & Steinmueller, 2018; Weber & Rohracher, 2012). There is an ongoing reflection that the design and implementation of transformative governance and forward-looking policies for systemic change need to address the complex and multi-dimensional nature of societal challenges in relevant areas, for example, mobility and accessibility, food and agriculture, energy systems, new urban governance and participation/co-creation, as well as environmental issues. Not only this requires a change in innovation objectives or new technological solutions, but calls for changes in the knowledge and innovation systems. That is, it consists of setting new priorities and radical changes in the socio-technical system, including a reconfiguration of the actors involved. And it will be necessary to combine different conceptual and empirical elements (with all the methodological and theoretical challenges ahead) to foster transformations. Henceforth, this ECC proposes the opportunity to discuss ‘STI policies for forward-looking transformations’ from different angles.

In particular, we welcome submissions that address (but not necessarily limited to) the following areas:

• Pathways of STI policies
• Types of innovations addressed by transformative STI policies
• Scales – embedding of STI policies in geographical context
• Science, society and policy interface
• Evaluation, assessment and impacts of STI policies

Venue

The conference will be held in Paris, France. For further information on the venue please see the Conference website.

Contact

All questions about submissions should be emailed to the local organizing team: ecc.euspri2021@ifris.org