The Mission Forward Conference was held in Vienna in October 2024. The conference was centred around four types of sessions:
1. Overall plenary sessions provided context (Opening plenary, featuring the Austrian Minister for Education, Science and Research, Yongsuk Jang, Chair of the OECD Committee for Scientific and Technological Policy; and Mariana Mazzucato [online]) and discussed implications on future mission practice and research (Final plenary with a panel of policymakers and academics).
2. Key issue sessions. During these sessions, mission academics provided background information on the key issues based on input from pre-conference activities to open the debates. Policymakers not involved in missions provided a broader perspective on the key issue. These inputs were then fed into discussions during two series of eight parallel breakout sessions (each series focusing sequentially on two key issues). Using a fishbowl format, a moderated discussion took place on the key issues during which a small group of mission practitioners took turns observing the discussion and taking part to share and discuss their own experience, achievements and challenges based on their concrete experience of managing missions. Designated moderators and note takers from the Mission Academic Board synthetised and reported on each group’s results at the final plenary session.
3. Poster sessions. Each mission team had prepared a poster with the support of the OECD (see Annex D). Using a carrousel format, the mission teams presented their mission-oriented innovation policy poster four times to four different small groups of attendees who could ask questions and share their experience.
4. Exchanges among the conference participants through designated sessions promoted dialogue.