October 14th, 2020—Policymaking Under Uncertainty

Policymaking is a challenging endeavour under the best of times, as politicians and bureaucrats seek to juggle the need for rapid and innovative interventions on the one hand with democratic accountability on the other. This trade-off, which can lead to conservative, short-term solutions, is exacerbated during periods of heightened uncertainty, moments when the possible outcomes themselves are unknown. This panel examines how policymakers adapt to extremely uncertain events, focusing on innovation, war, and the recent COVID-19 pandemic.

Moderator:

• Dan Breznitz—Munk Chair of Innovation Studies; Co-Director, Innovation Policy Lab, Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, University of Toronto; Co-Director, CIFAR Program on Innovation, Equity & the Future of Prosperity

Speakers:

• Dan Breznitz—Munk Chair of Innovation Studies; Co-Director, Innovation Policy Lab, Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, University of Toronto; Co-Director, CIFAR Program on Innovation, Equity & the Future of Prosperity
• Uri Gabai—Co-General Manager, Start-Up Nation Central; and former Chief Strategy Officer, Israel Innovation Authority, Tel Aviv, Israel
• Darius Ornston—Associate Professor, Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, University of Toronto
• Sylvia Schwaag Serger—Deputy Vice Chancellor, and Professor of Research Politics at the School of Economics and Management, Lund University, Lund, Sweden

Sponsored by: Innovation Policy Lab, Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, Sweden

Watch the event on YouTube.