Helsinki NIRPA seminar focused on grand challenges facing society

28 Sep 2011

The Academy of Finland, together with NIRPA and NordForsk, arranged a two-day seminar “Research Policies for Grand Challenges – Strategies and Tools” in Helsinki on 22–23 September 2011.



On the first day, the seminar discussed the grand challenges both from a global and European perspective. The main focus of the second day was on Nordic experiences and future plans. The seminar speakers included Professor Glauco Arbix from Brazil, Professor Michael Kahn from South Africa, Dr David C. Croson from the USA and Deputy Director-General Anneli Pauli from the European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation. The seminar was attended by key Nordic actors in R&D&I, the Academy’s key stakeholders and research-policy experts.

Seminar programme (pdf)

The Nordic Network for International Research Policy Analysis (NIRPA) is a joint project within the NordForsk Noria-net initiative. NIRPA examines how global trends and developments could be monitored, studied and interpreted, with a particular view to contributing to the strategic preparedness of Nordic research agencies and actors involved in R&D.

Seminar presentations:

Day 1:

• Opening of seminar (pdf)
  Professor Markku Mattila, Academy of Finland
• Goals and agenda (pdf)
  Dr Riitta Mustonen, Academy of Finland
• Innovation and development (video, scroll down)
  Professor Glauco Arbix, the Brazilian Innovation Agancy FINEP
• Research centres in the periphery - the grand challenges, the South and agency (pdf)
  Professor Michael Kahn, Research and Innovation Associates, South Africa
• Value of Foresight and Flexibility in Research Policy for Grand Challenges (pdf)
  Dr David C. Croson, the National Science Foundation, USA 
• Grand challenges in the European context (pdf)
  Dr Anneli Pauli, DG Research & Innovation - European Commission
• Discussion and conclusions (pdf)
  Professor Arto Mustajoki, University of Helsinki and Academy of Finland

Day 2:

• Governance of research, innovation and higher education in response to Grand Challenges - lessons learned from Nordic co-operation (pdf)
  Director Gunnel Gustafsson, NordForsk
• Horizon 2010 - State of the Art (pdf)
  special advisor Dan Andrée
  
• Realizing Joint Programming - which obstacles remain in applying the toolbox? (pdf)
  Senior Administrative Officer Rolf Höijer, Ministry of Education and Research, Sweden
• Panel discussion with a focus on governance of knowledge in response to Grand Challenges
  Professor Jerzy Langer (pdf)
  Anna Sjöström Douagi (pdf)
  Chapeau (pdf)
  Aris Kaloudis (pdf)

Videos:

Text and picture: Risto Alatarvas