Capabilities for the Common Good: A study on the Social Justice Foundations of the Missions-oriented Innovation Policy Framework

Abstract

Missions-oriented innovation policies have received increasing attention by scholars and policymakers in recent years. Proponents of the missions-framework argue that transformative innovation policies are needed to address important societal challenges, such as e.g., mitigate the effects of climate change. Critics, however, have recently argued that the missions-framework lacks strong theoretical foundations. This thesis addresses this criticism and analyses the theoretical and philosophical foundations of the missions-oriented innovation policy approach. Specifically, the thesis draws inspiration from theories of social justice in political philosophy, and it discusses the relations between different theories of social justice and the rationales and foundations of innovation policy. The thesis carries out a review of social justice theories with the aim of reflecting upon the relations that these have with innovation policy foundations. Specifically, the thesis argues that the theories of the capabilities approach and responsive communitarianism are more closely related to, and provide promising foundations for, the missions-framework.