Policymaking Under Uncertainty

October 21, 2020

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.

Speakers

Uri Gabai
Panelist
Co-General Manager, Start-Up Nation Central and former Chief Strategy Officer, Israel Innovation Authority, Tel Aviv Israel

Darius Ornston
Panelist
Associate Professor at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, University of Toronto

Sylvia Schwaag Serger
Panelist
Deputy Vice Chancellor and Professor of Research Policy at the School of Economics and Management, Lund University; Member of the Swedish Prime Minister’s Innovation Council, Sweden

Dan Breznitz
Moderator
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