The European Central Bank, together with the MIT Lab for Innovation Science and Policy, would like to invite you to a joint conference on “Fostering Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the Euro Area”, which will take place on 13-14 March 2017 in Frankfurt am Main, at the European Central Bank. 

This conference will bring together thought leaders in academia, government, risk capital, and industry, with the aim of:

•          Calling policy makers’ attention to the growing EU innovation gap
•          Highlighting the key role technology-based innovation can play in fostering growth in the region
•          Helping to identify evidence-based solutions to overcome these challenges

Sustainable economic growth depends on strong Total Factor Productivity (TFP)—the growth in output that exceeds the growth in capital and labour inputs. While TFP captures productivity benefits from many sources, key among them are innovation and entrepreneurship, which have become critical engines of economic growth. The importance of TFP growth (and, therefore innovation performance) is particularly complex in the context of monetary union, e.g. the euro area, where significant disparities in regional productivity and innovation-driven advantage can create the need for distinctive activities at a regional or country level. Indeed, in recent decades, innovation in the euro area in general, and in some countries in particular, has been disappointing. Addressing this challenge is a top priority.

This conference will provide a general framework for evaluating innovation and entrepreneurship at the ecosystem level that allows both for activities that enable regional comparative advantage, as well as encompasses the larger, more integrated European context.

Preliminary agenda