Joscha Wirtz heads the strategy team for digitalisation at the Wuppertal Institute, a leading international think tank for sustainability research and consultancy. Previously, he led the Responsible Research and Innovation Hub at RWTH Aachen University. His work focuses on enabling a just and green transition, scaling responsible innovation and improving organizational readiness for a regenerative economy.
Policy Project: Addressing exponential gaps: Improving organisational readiness to deliver sustainable solutions at scale.
We live in an era of exponential gaps. This term refers to the growing disparity between the rapid pace of change in key transition areas and the slow rate at which society has been able to adapt to and regulate these changes. It is particularly evident in the twin transition, the convergence of the green and digital transformations. To close the exponential gaps, we need to scale and accelerate impact globally. As a possible response to this need, the concept of a mission-oriented approach has gained traction in recent years: Horizon Europe, the EU's research and innovation programme, includes EU missions for 2021-2027. The approach encompasses all new or improved technological, social and organisational solutions that aim to respond to one or more of the Grand Challenges and create public value for society. In short, Missions bring together stakeholders and resources to strengthen the EU's collective response to global challenges. To successfully implement and achieve missions, the following barriers in the current system must be overcome: (i) fragmentation of competences and mandates, (ii) lack of adequate financial resources for long-term and high-risk projects, and (iii) lack of executional excellence. This project will focus on organisations willing to participate in missions, their readiness and the steps needed to embed them in a thriving policy ecosystem.
