Innovation
Innovation is key to remaining at the forefront of global economic developments. Without innovation, we will not be able to sustain our high-wage jobs and preserve social equity.
While there is much talk in Europe about innovation, there is still too little public engagement and popular understanding that innovation is first and foremost about doing things differently. Put simply, we need renewal and change in all areas of society – public and private. Against this backdrop, the Lisbon Council is committed to leading a campaign on the role and importance of innovation, to shedding light on innovation’s intricate dynamics and to providing a platform where innovative minds can connect and exchange ideas.
Among the highlights of the Innovation Initiative are:
Smart Cities and Regions: How Innovation Can Kick-Start Growth and Jobs
November 2012
At a high-level working dinner, VIP participants explored ways of making Europe’s regions and cities more innovative – and how that dynamism can be used to help Europe out of the crisis. Among the high-level participants – which included innovation experts, mayors, policymakers and front-line practitioners – were Danuta Hübner, chair of the committee on regional development in the European Parliament and former European commissioner for regional policy; Marialuisa Coppola, counsellor for economy and development, research and innovation of Veneto Region, Italy; Harry van Dorenmalen, chairman of IBM Europe; Milan Ftáčnik, mayor of Bratislava, Slovakia; Nicholas Martyn, deputy director-general at the European Commission’s regional policy directorate; and Ard van der Tuuk, regional minister of the Drenthe Province in the Netherlands. The event took place under the Lisbon Council’s Zukunftssalon: Forum for the Future, a forum for informal, high-level debate on pressing policy challenges of the day.
View Photo Highlights on flickr Photostream
StartUp Europe: Lisbon Council and Telefónica Launch New Centre of Excellence
October 2012
Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, European Commissioner for research, innovation and science, joined the launch of Start-Up Europe, a new centre of excellence devoted to youth, technology and entrepreneurship, formed by the Lisbon Council and Telefónica. Speaking at The 2012 Innovation Summit, which the Lisbon Council convened in the Résidence Palace, Brussels, Commissioner Geoghegan-Quinn also delivered The 2012 Robert Schuman Lecture and laid out her vision for how innovation can drive the economic recovery, particularly in high-tech sectors and entrepreneurial ventures. Eva Castillo Sanz, CEO Telefónica Europe, joined a high-level panel on Kick-Starting Innovation to Drive the Economic Recovery, along with Ann Mettler, executive director of the Lisbon Council, and Adam Purvis, co-founder and CEO of Power of Youth. Enrico Giovannini, president of the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) and former chief economist of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), gave The 2012 Jean Jacques Rousseau Lecture on how to measure and account for innovation and entrepreneurship. Andreas Schleicher, special adviser on education policy to the secretary-general and deputy director for education at the OECD, made a stellar presentation on the skills the young generation needs to acquire and develop to turn them into better jobs and better lives. Michel Praet, member of the cabinet responsible for research and innovation at European Council President Herman Van Rompuy’s office, served as discussant.
View the Video about the Launch of StartUp Europe on the Lisbon Council TV
Read Commissioner Geoghegan-Quinn’s Lecture
Watch Commissioner Geoghegan-Quinn’s Lecture on Lisbon Council TV
See Eva Castillo Sanz’s Presentation
See Enrico Giovannini’s Presentation
See Andreas Schleicher's Presentation
Download StartUp Europe Press Release
View Photo Highlights of The 2012 Innovation Summit
Intellectual Property and Innovation Summit
September 2012
The 2012 Intellectual Property and Innovation Summit convened under the timely theme of Intellectual Property and Innovation: A Framework for 21st Century Growth and Jobs. Neelie Kroes, vice-president of the European Commission in charge of the digital agenda, kicked-off the Summit with a passionate keynote on Innovation in Creative Industries. Ian Hargreaves, professor of digital economy at Cardiff University and author of the high-level Digital Opportunity report prepared for UK Prime Minister David Cameron, formally presented Intellectual Property and Innovation: A Framework for 21st Century Growth and Jobs, a new Lisbon Council publication, co-edited by Prof. Hargreaves. Lilian Edwards, professor of Internet law, Strathclyde University in Glasgow; Reto Hilty, professor of intellectual property law, University of Zurich and director, Max Planck Institute for Intellectual Property, Competition and Tax Law; Bernt Hugenholtz, professor of intellectual property, Institute for Information Law, University of Amsterdam; Paul Klimpel, former managing director, Deutsche Kinemathek; Till Kreutzer, associate research fellow, Hans Bredow Institute and founding member and editor, iRights.info; Cédric Manara, associate professor of law, EDHEC Business School; Nico Perez, co-founder, Mixcloud.com; and Michel Vivant, full professor and academic director, intellectual property programme of the master’s in Droit economique, Sciences Po, joined the discussion and provided strategic recommendations on how to enhance the intellectual property regime for the digital age.
Watch Vice-President Neelie Kroes's Keynote on Lisbon Council TV
Watch Interview with Prof. Ian Hargreaves
Download Vice-President Neelie Kroes' Keynote
Download Lilian Edwards' Presentation
Download Bernt Hugenholtz' Presentation
Download Intellectual Property and Innovation
Prof. John Quelch of China-Europe International Business School Leads Debate
June 2012
The Lisbon Council welcomed Prof. John Quelch, distinguished professor of international management, vice-president and dean of the China-Europe International Business School (CEIBS) in Shanghai, for a High-Level Working Lunch on Innovation and Growth: Understanding China’s Market and Management Education System. An eclectic and dedicated group of senior experts from the European institutions and top members of the Lisbon Council network, joined the interactive debate on China’s growth and innovation strategy, and discussed the role higher education can play in China’s future developments.
The High-Level Lunch was hosted by the Gan Zhao Li Centre, the Lisbon Council’s recently launched centre for innovation and Sino-European studies. Gan Zhao Li means “the power to inspire.”
Download Prof. Quelch’s Presentation
View Photos of the High-Level Working Lunch on the Lisbon Council's Photostream
High-Level Roundtable on SMEs and Technology
April 2012
The Single Market Entrepreneurs (SME) Centre, a new centre of excellence housed within the Lisbon Council, convened the first High-Level Roundtable on Growth and Innovation under the timely theme: How Digital Technologies are Reshaping Traditional Business Models and Empowering Entrepreneurs. Anthony D. Williams, senior fellow for innovation, presented his latest policy brief – co-authored with Ann Mettler, executive director – entitled Wired for Growth and Innovation: How Digital Technologies are Reshaping Small- and Medium-Sized Businesses. Bart Becks, co-founder and CEO of SonicAngel, a Belgian crowdfunding start-up; Julien Blanchez, Getting Business Online Campaign lead at Google; Fotis Antonopoulos, founder of OliveShop.com in Greece; Joanna Drake, director for SMEs and entrepreneurship at the European Commission’s enterprise and industry directorate-general; Peter Leyenaar, management team member for regulatory reform and ICT policy at the enterprise and innovation directorate of the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation; and Taylor Reynolds, senior economist for information economy in the directorate for science, technology and industry at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) followed with timely interventions. For more information, visit http://singlemarketentrepreneus.eu.
Download Wired for Growth and Innovation
View Anthony D. Williams’ Presentation
View Taylor Reynolds’ Presentation
View Bart Becks’ Presentation
View Julien Blanchez' Presentation
View Fotis Antonopoulos' Presentation
View Peter Leyenaar's Presentation
View Photos from the High-Level Roundtable on the Lisbon Council flickr Photostream
Palmisano on 21st Century Innovation and Leadership
February 2012
Samuel J. Palmisano, chairman of IBM, and one of the most iconic and visionary business leaders of our time, delivered The 2012 Guglielmo Marconi Lecture, the Lisbon Council’s flagship event on innovation. In his speech entitled Now It Gets Interesting: Global Integration Act II, he discussed ways in which innovation itself is changing, as well as the new kinds of leadership that it requires. He also explored how long-term management approaches and systems thinking can lay the foundation for Europe’s future growth. John Bell, head of cabinet of Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, European commissioner for research, innovation and science, and Robert Madelin, director-general for information society and media at the European Commission, served as discussants.
Watch Samuel J. Palmisano's Guglielmo Marconi Lecture
Watch Highlights of The 2012 Guglielmo Marconi Lecture
Read Samuel J. Palmisano’s Guglielmo Marconi Lecture
View Photos from The 2012 Guglielmo Marconi Lecture on flickr Photostream
Lisbon Council at the First Innovation Convention
December 2011
The Lisbon Council took a leading role in the first Innovation Convention, the European Union’s flagship innovation event, led by José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, and Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, European research, innovation and science commissioner. Ann Mettler, executive director, opened the conference on Monday, introducing President Barroso’s keynote and assisting in the presentation of the awards for Women Innovators Prize. Later, she chaired the plenary session with Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Google, who delivered a powerful and electrifying keynote on In Search of a Better Problem.
The Lisbon Council also convened an oversubscribed fringe session in the margins of the Innovation Convention, where leading thinkers discussed and debated The Rise of the Micro-Multinational: How Freelancers and Technology Savvy Start-Ups Are Driving Innovation, a flagship Lisbon Council publication. Don Tapscott, award-winning co-author of Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything and chair of the Tapscott Group, who was recently chosen by Thinkers 50 as one of the top 10 business thinkers in the world, keynoted the session. Fabien Curto Millet, senior economist at Google, also joined the debate, giving new insight into evolving trends in collaboration and 21st century business models.
Download The Rise of the Micro-Multinational
Watch Ann Mettler’s prezi on the Rise of the Micro-Multinational
The 2011 Innovation Summit: New Drivers of Innovation
October 2011
The 2011 Innovation Summit convened under the timely theme of New Drivers of Innovation: The Changing Nature of Business Models, Workplaces and Organisations. Viviane Reding, vice-president of the European Commission, delivered a fascinating keynote address, introducing a major new proposal on a Common Sales Law aimed at unleashing the potential of the single market and spurring innovation. Ann Mettler, executive director, and Anthony D. Williams, weighed in with a new policy brief: The Rise of the Micro-Multinational: How Freelancers and Technology-Savvy Start-Ups are Driving Growth, Jobs and Innovation. In addition, Judith Merkies, MEP and rapporteur on the Innovation Union flagship initiative at the European Parliament; Matthew C. Robinson, global trends director at Accenture; Tim Sefton, business development director at Telefónica; and Małgorzata Steiner, lead policy specialist at the Chancellery of the Prime Minister of Poland, joined high-level panels on innovation priorities in the coming months. Andrew Wyckoff, director of the directorate for science, technology and industry at the OECD, presented the latest OECD Science, Technology and Industry Scoreboard and discussed emerging global trends in knowledge and innovation.
Watch Vice-President Reding's Keynote Address
Watch Ann Mettler and Anthony D. Williams’ Prezi
View Photos from The 2011 Innovation Summit on the Lisbon Council flickr Photostream
Download Vice-President Reding’s Speech
Download Andrew Wyckoff’s Presentation
Download Tim Sefton’s Presentation
Download Malgorzata Steiner's Presentation
Download The Rise of the Micro-Multinational
Download OECD Science, Technology and Industry Scoreboard 2011 Highlights
Innovation Union: Smart Solutions to Grand Challenges
June 2011
The Lisbon Council convened its June 2011 Zukunftssalon: Forum for the Future under the timely theme of Innovation Union: Smart Solutions to Europe’s Grand Challenges. The dinner debate concentrated on how to turn the current crisis into an opportunity for fostering innovation throughout society, focusing in particular on how to provide practical and smart solutions to Europeʼs grand challenges, such as ageing, climate change and mobility. Special guests included Judith Merkies, member of the European Parliament and rapporteur on Innovation Union; Harry van Dorenmalen, chairman of IBM Europe; Henk de Jong, secretary-general of the City of Amsterdam; Matthias Ruete, director-general of DG mobility and transport at the European Commission; Marion Dewar, member of the cabinet of Research and Innovation Commissioner Geoghegan-Quinn; and Kurt Vandenberghe, head of the cabinet of Environment Commissioner Janez Potočnik.
View Photos of the Zukunftssalon: Forum for the Future on the Lisbon Council flickr Photostream
Innovation Union: European Priorities for the Post-Crisis World
December 2010
The Lisbon Council concluded the year with a timely event on Innovation Union: European Priorities for the Post-Crisis World. In an insightful opening speech, Vincent van Quickenborne, minister for economy and administrative simplification of Belgium (which currently holds the EU’s rotating presidency), talked about the innovation imperative facing Europe. Anthony D. Williams, senior fellow for innovation at the Lisbon Council, gave a fascinating presentation of Macrowikinomics: Rebooting Business and the World, his best-selling book, and Mark Spelman, managing director for global strategy at Accenture, energized the debate with a practitioner’s perspective. Later, Michel Praet, member of President Van Rompuy’s cabinet in charge of research and innovation; Martin Schuurmans, chairman of the board at the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) and Rudolf Strohmeier, deputy director-general of DG research at the European Commission, shed light on what the Innovation Union is – and has the potential to be.
Download Vincent van Quickenborne's Presentation
Download Anthony Williams’ Presentation
Download Martin Schuurmans’ Presentation
Leading Public Sector Innovation: Co-Creating for a Better Society
November 2010
In a forceful intervention, Christian Bason, director, author and Ph.D fellow at MindLab, the Danish innovation agency, introduced his new book Leading Public Sector Innovation: Co-Creating for a Better Society. He explained how the current crisis can act as an historic catalyst for innovation and better, more responsive government. Mr. Bason’s enlightening presentation was followed by inspiring comments from Peter Dröll, head of unit for policy development for industrial innovation in the directorate-general for enterprise and industry at the European Commission.
Download Presentation on Leading Public Sector Innovation
Watch Video Clip from Helsinki Design Lab
Visit MindLab Website
The 2010 Innovation Summit
March 2010
Delivering The 2010 Robert Schuman Lecture, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, European commissioner for research and innovation, called on Europe to step up its innovation performance, outlining how transformative changes should be used to address "grand challenges." Commissioner Geoghegan-Quinn’s address was part of The 2010 Innovation Summit, which also saw interventions from Prof. Dr. Martin Schuurmans, chairman of the board of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), Anthony D. Williams, senior fellow for innovation at the Lisbon Council and co-author of bestseller Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything, Andrew Wyckoff, director, science, technology and industry directorate at the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) and Rian Liebenberg, engineering director of Google.
Watch "What is Innovation?" video clip on You Tube
Watch highlights of The 2010 Innovation Summit
Watch remarks of Prof. Martin Schuurmans, EIT
Watch interview with Anthony D. Williams on Wikinomics in Europe
View Photos of The 2010 Innovation Summit on the Lisbon Council flickr Photostream
Downloads
Text of Geoghegan-Quinn Speech (105.51kb)
Anthony D. Williams Presentation (4.02mb)
e-brief Wikinomics in Europe (1.28mb)
OECD Presentation (1.15mb)
Innovation: Open, Collaborative, Interdisciplinary
June 2009
The Lisbon Council convened a High-Level Working Group on Innovation. Convening under the timely theme Open, Collaborative, Interdisciplinary: What the Next Wave of Innovation will Mean for Europe, the gathering brought together key thought leaders and global practitioners. Hal Varian, author of Information Rules: A Strategic Guide to the Network Economy and chief economist of Google, delivered The 2009 Guglielmo Marconi Lecture, the Lisbon Council’s flagship event on innovation and creativity. His address, entitled Combinatorial Innovation: How Mass Collaboration will Change Europe, shed light on the profound economic transition triggered by the application of new technologies and new innovation models. Peter Dröll, head of unit, innovation policy development at DG Enterprise, served as discussant and presented the European Commission view. In another session, Dirk Pilat and Andrew Wyckoff of the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development introduced their leading-edge work on the OECD’s new Innovation Strategy.
Watch The 2009 Guglielmo Marconi Lecture in full on EUX.tv
Download OECD presentation on innovation
Download Professor Varian's presentation
Read Ann Mettler's article on innovation in Parliament Magazine
The Future of the Internet: How the Obama Generation will Change the World
February 2009
How will society change as the internet becomes more widespread? What will Web 3.0 look like? And how will today’s under 30’s use the Internet to write their own version of democracy and society? These questions and more were addressed by top thought leaders and policy makers, such as Don Tapscott, author of bestselling books Grown Up Digital and Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything, and Viviane Reding, European commissioner for information society and media.
Read Commissioner Reding's remarks
Watch video introduction to Grown Up Digital
High-Level Roundtable on Innovation in Services
November 2008
The Lisbon Council convened its second annual High-Level Roundtable on Innovation in Services. The Initiative was kicked off by Esko Aho, executive vice president at Nokia Corporation, and former prime minister of Finland, who delivered The 2008 Jean Monnet Lecture. Author of the seminal report Creating an Innovative Europe, Mr. Aho made a strong case for why service sector innovation is crucial for Europe’s future. Dirk Pilat, head of the science and technology division at the OECD, Paul Gemmel, professor of services operation management at the Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School, and Jari Kuusisto, director of the SC-Research Institute in Finland, contributed expert presentations. Participants joined us from Finland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
Presentation from Dirk Pilat of the OECD
Presentation from Prof. Gemmel, Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School
Presentation from Prof. Kuusisto, SC-Research Institute
The 2008 Innovation Day
November 2008
Charlie Leadbeater, author of the best-selling book We-Think: Mass Innovation, Not Mass Production, kicked off The 2008 Innovation Day with a rousing appeal for Europe to embrace the challenge and opportunity of 21st century social networking in The 2008 Guglielmo Marconi Lecture, the Lisbon Council’s flagship event on innovation and creativity. Janez Potočnik, European commissioner for science and research, led a fascinating discussion on Europe’s fifth freedom. And Kacim Kellal, assistant deputy minister of international affairs and co-development of France, and Jonathan Faull, director general of DG Justice, Freedom and Security at the European Commission, joined a working group on the talent challenge and the EU Blue Card. The 2008 Innovation Day was organised in collaboration with Oracle.
Watch an excerpt of Charlie Leadbeater’s Lecture on EUX.tv
Watch a YouTube summary of Charlie Leadbeater’s book We-Think
Download OECD presentation on the mobility of highly skilled
Innovation in Serivces: Drivers of Growth in the Networked, Knowledge-Based Economy
November 2007
This high-level roundtable on the timely issue of Innovation in Services brought together chief information and technology officers, as well as top experts, thought leaders and industry practitioners.
The 2007 Guglielmo Marconi Lecture: Wikinomics, Innovation and the Entrepreneur
November 2007
Don Tapscott, chief executive officer of Canada-based think tank New Paradigm, and author of Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything. Lessons for your Business from Web 2.0, delivered the keynote address to the Lisbon Council's Innovation and Entrepreneurship Day. Mr. Tapscott addressed a group of 80 entrepreneurs from 14 European countries on the timely issue of "Wikinomics, Innovation and the Entrepreneur," explaining why there has never been a better time to be an entrepreneur.
Download Don Tapscott's presentation slides here
The 2006 Guglielmo Marconi Lecture: Putting Consumers First
December 2006
William W. Lewis, director emeritus of the McKinsey Global Institute and author of the acclaimed book "The Power of Productivity: Wealth, Poverty and the Threat to Global Stability," delivered The 2006 Guglielmo Marconi Lecture, the Lisbon Council’s flagship event on innovation and productivity. Dr. Lewis shed light on the recent policy re-orientation in Brussels, moving away from protecting incumbent economic interests towards serving a citizens’ agenda. In a compelling presentation, he made a convincing case for putting consumers first.
Download Dr. Lewis' presentation slides
SME Seminar on Financing for Innovation and Growth
October 2006
Together with Oracle corporation, the Lisbon Council leads group of small- and medium-sized enterprises from ten countries to the European Investment Bank for one-day seminar on Financing for Innovation and Growth. Highlights included interventions from EIB vice presidents Simon Brooks and Torsten Gersfelt, as well as presentation by Francis Carpenter, chief executive officer of the European Investment Fund.
Günter Verheugen delivers The 2005 Guglielmo Marconi Lecture
December 2005
Günter Verheugen, vice president of the European Commission responsible for enterprise and industry, delivered an eloquent account of Europe’s innovation imperative. In his remarks, he called on participants to step up their advocacy and emphasized the important role of small- and medium-sized enterprises in championing innovative practices.
Download Vice-President Verheugen’s remarks
Innovation Forum convenes
December 2005
The Lisbon Council, in collaboration with Oracle Corporation, convened a day-long meeting of the Innovation Forum, a Lisbon Council advisory body of innovation experts, industry representatives, entrepreneurs, innovators, strategists and small business leaders. Isaac Getz, professor of ideas, involvement and innovation management at the ESCP-EAP European School of Management, led a working group on innovation processes within enterprises. Also, David White, director of innovation policy at the European Commission and Torsten Gersfelt, vice-president at the European Investment Bank, discussed the role that government can play in promoting and sustaining innovation.
Download Professor Getz’ presentation slides
Policy breakfast with Issac Getz, one of Europe’s most renowned innovation experts
November 2004
Dr. Isaac Getz, professor of idea, involvement and innovation at the Paris-based ESCP-EAP European School of Management, kicked off athought-provoking debate on the policies that encourage innovation and nurture new ideas. Focusing particularly on the solutions available to individuals and companies, Professor Getz outlined the key institutional and intellectual challenges to overcome.
