The realization of a sustainable society is a goal of the international community, including Japan. To achieve this, it is necessary to reform the current socioeconomic system itself and bring forth new forms of growth and value creation. Innovation that aims to transform society in such a fashion is called transformative innovation. The realization of transformative innovation requires efforts that go beyond the framework of conventional science, technology, and innovation (STI) policies.

The purpose of this report is to summarize the trends in Japan and overseas and at organizations regarding such transformative innovation policies (TIPs) and mission-oriented innovation policies (MOIPs), which are the specific policy approaches to TIPs, and to provide insight that will contribute to the consideration of efforts aimed at the promotion of future TIPs and MOIPs in Japan.

Since its institutionalization in various countries after World War II, STI policy has gradually expanded its framework based on the demands of society in terms of critical technologies, the economy, international relations, the environment, and other factors at that time. During the Cold War, mission agencies were established to achieve the goal of developing technologies of national importance, such as space development and nuclear power, and research and development (R&D) were carried out by mobilizing human resources, funds, and technology. When the international competitiveness of industries was emphasized, consortia involving related organizations from industry, academia, and government were formed to accelerate the development of technologies at the pre-competitive phase and promote their diffusion. In addition, policies were taken to intensify the ties among industry, academia, and government by establishing intellectual property right regimes and technology transfer systems, facilitate the reinforcement of the national innovation system, and promote startups. These efforts in each era also went beyond the framework of the STI policies that preceded them, and each country promoted new initiatives through trial and error. Now, efforts aimed at realizing transformative innovation are required in the form of a new STI policy framework.

TIPs and MOIPs, which constitute the new frameworks for STI policy, call for a promotion system and methods known as the third-generation STI policy. This requires a system for cross-ministerial collaboration and coordination that involves not only the ministries and agencies traditionally involved in STI, but also those responsible for sectoral policies related to societal challenges that require transformative solutions. It also requires the design and flexible implementation of a comprehensive package (portfolio) of policy measures and projects that includes policy instruments other than R&D, such as regulations, standards, tax systems, and public procurement. While effectively utilizing such a promotion system and methods, it is necessary to build a co-creative innovation ecosystem centered on local areas and problematic sites, and to promote various initiatives aimed at transformation along with R&D in an integrated manner within that ecosystem. Such an ecosystem would consist not only of universities, research institutions, and corporate R&D departments, but also of diverse stakeholders, including business companies and units, the financial sector, local governments and communities, and other interest groups. It is then necessary to motivate these different organizations and stakeholders to work towards achieving specific goals for transformation (missions), and to shape specific efforts.

Regarding such TIPs and MOIPs, various initiatives are being developed in Japan and overseas and at organizations. In terms of the system for cross-ministerial collaboration and coordination at the central government level, the ministry responsible for sectoral policy may have primary responsibility (e.g., the European Union (EU) and the Netherlands) or the STI policy headquarters or the ministry in charge may be the core entity (e.g., Japan and Austria). On the other hand, there are also cases where funding agencies and public research institutions that constitute the executing bodies for STI policy take the lead in promoting initiatives (e.g., Norway, Sweden, and Australia). In addition, there are also cases where bottom-up co-creative innovation is promoted by establishing a core organization or mechanism in an ecosystem centered on the local area or problematic site, then supporting research and innovation activities that lead to individual change (e.g., EU Ocean and Water Mission and Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission).

In promoting TIPs and MOIPs, in addition to efforts in the above vein, it is also necessary to build the infrastructure, organizational and human resource capacity for supporting those efforts. First are functions to support the design and formulation of the mission and action plan and the actual implementation of initiatives based on a variety of information, data, and expertise (e.g., EU Joint Research Centers and Mission Implementation Platforms). In many countries, the likes of public research institutes and public-private consortia with expertise fulfill such functions. The development of data and information infrastructure for that purpose is needed as well. In addition to STI projects, efforts are also being made to gain a bird's-eye view of non-STI-related funds and initiatives and link them to effective collaboration. Furthermore, monitoring and evaluation are important to track and direct the progress of efforts conducted from the bottom-up with a view to accomplishing missions. Therefore, the target and scope of monitoring and evaluation, associated methods and indicators, their incorporation into specific implementation processes, and so forth are being studied and developed in parallel with the TIP and MOIP efforts. Additionally, in promoting TIPs and MOIPs, which constitute future-oriented approaches toward a desirable society, efforts to gain a broad overview of science, technology, innovation, socioeconomics, the environment, people's perceptions and behavior, values, etc. and bring forth and utilize knowledge and information that can be used as a reference for policy decisions and deliberations (strategic intelligence) through foresight for considering various scenarios while grasping signs of change will also be needed. The development and sharing of processes and tools to promote such efforts, as well as skill development and training for the human resources who will handle the promotion of TIPs and MOIPs, have also begun.

While countries continue to explore their efforts in TIPs and MOIPs to realize a transformation into a sustainable society and new forms of growth within that society, they are advancing those efforts in various ways. Under TIPs and MOIPs, not only is direct investment made in R&D and innovation activities, but considerable resources are also devoted to creating an ecosystem in which research and innovation activities take place and to supporting and coordinating the various stakeholders and organizations involved. Associated preparations and the setting up of systems also takes time. For this reason, it is necessary to also bear in mind the existence of criticism from those who call for more direct support for research and innovation activities. In addition, the political system, historical legacy, and other aspects of each country also have a significant impact on the design and implementation of specific TIPs and MOIPs. Considering these points, it would be necessary to take the approach of forming an understanding of the functions and initiatives needed to achieve the desired transformations based on cases in Japan and other countries, then reconfiguring them to fit Japan.

Based on the above recognition, CRDS will also continue to conduct surveys and analysis of domestic and international trends and initiatives in order to provide knowledge that will contribute to strategy planning, institutional design, improvements at the implementation level, and other aspects of TIPs and MOIPs in Japan in the future.