INNOVATION IN NEUROTECHNOLOGY

 Blended financial instruments offer opportunities for more sustainable private sector innovation where markets fail. While much blended finance funds are geared towards SDGs, there are fewer funds focused on R&D projects for commercialising early stage innovations.  Embedding innovation within population-based frameworks – such as Convergent Innovation, Health in All Policies, One Health, Health System Resilience, Responsible Innovation – will help achieve synergies across global health systems.  There is a lack of understanding of how to implement approaches to Technology Assessment (TA) into business models for health innovation and for exploring the economic, social and environmental performance of novel health technologies.  As a response to pressing global health challenges innovators, public funders, private investors and health care providers are increasingly expected to monitor, asses and shape their social impact. Business models that are aimed at delivering common pool resources should implement a ‘measuring culture’ along the value chain of health technology innovation.  Long-term transformational change will require government policy and corporate changes aimed at building an innovation ecosystem that bridges market and societal needs presented by health priorities, such as pandemics, population ageing, inequality, undernutrition, obesity, and environmental threats. Contact: Hermann Garden (STI/STP)

BNCT’S WORK ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE OECD RECOMMENDATION ON RESPONSIBLE INNOVATION IN NEUROTECHNOLOGY

The BNCT Working Party has been engaging in implementation efforts of the Recommendation on Responsible Innovation in Neurotechnology since its adoption by the OECD Council in December 2019. The Recommendation is the first international instrument of its kind in the Neurotechnology field and marks BNCT’s expertise in issues of responsible innovation of emerging technologies [further information and links: https://oe.cd/NeurotechnologyRecommendation].

Implementation efforts so far have consisted of the following activities: (1) dissemination at external events, and conferences; (2) publications: ‘New frontiers of the mind: enabling responsible innovation in neurotechnology’ (December 2019, the OECD Forum Network); ‘Brain-computer interfaces and the future of neurotechnology governance’ (September 2020, OECD innovation blog); Chapter “The OECD approach to responsible innovation” (p.79-84) in edited book Convergence Mental Health: A Transdisciplinary Approach to Innovation (January 2021); and (3) organisation of capacity building workshops: in September 2020 (the “Seoul Event”) and on 19-20 May 2021 (the “Zurich Event”): “Neurotechnology in and for society: deliberation, stewardship and trust”. 140 participants from 25 countries and 110 different institutions attended the 2-day virtual workshop. Hosted by the Swiss delegation, it focused on gathering good practices and experiences related to Principles 5 and 8 of the Recommendation that focus on enabling societal deliberation and cultures of stewardship and trust between the public and private sector, respectively. Experts from the public and private sector, academia, as well as non-governmental, non-profit and patient organisations shared experiences and discussed issues that are vital in the notion of “Neurotechnology in and for society”. The event page includes an executive summary, 3 short highlight videos, the agenda, a flyer with speaker bios and links to the full recording as well as other post-event materials.

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