"Discussing the concept of “Technology Sovereignty” and different country experiences and approaches."

The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a renewed interest in domestically sensitive sectors and the need to access and produce specific products and technologies. While this is not something new, geopolitical uncertainty, global trade tensions, digitally-driven technology changes, signs of reshoring and reconfiguration of GVCs, and more importantly, the uncertainty caused by this and potential future pandemics, have added pressure on governments to revise policies to support and create domestic technology and production capabilities. This drive has translated into the proliferation of government instruments, such as procurement programs for innovation or standards-setting, that aim at achieving the so-called “technology sovereignty”.

These instruments and approaches are not, however, risk-free. Can these instruments result in distortions that undermine competition and trade? More importantly, can they act against the open nature of innovation and science, which requires intra and cross-border cooperation between different actors to succeed? What are the implications in terms of designing mission-oriented innovation policy?

The objective of this webinar is to shed light on the concept of “Technology Sovereignty” and different country experiences and approaches; and on the implementation mechanisms of one key policy instrument for increasing this “technology sovereignty”: public procurement.