Global Frontier Technology Policy: Navigating Ambition, Capacity & Collaboration

The Growth Lab's Research Seminar series is a weekly seminar that brings together researchers from across the academic spectrum who share an interest in growth and development.

Whether attending in person or virtually, please register in advance. Room attendance is permitted for the Harvard community. The Zoom session is open to the public. 

Speaker bio: Caroline is currently Head of Secretariat for the OECD Working Party on Innovation and Technology Policy (TIP) within the OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation. In this capacity, she oversees the collaborative efforts of more than 100 country policy delegates and experts, acting as both a convenor and advisor. Caroline's current focus spans three key areas: moonshot green and digital transition technologies, the distributional challenges of digital and environmental transitions, and the wider application of policy intelligence and agility, including experiments with large language models (LLMs). Caroline has an extensive track record in in policy consultation and more than 70 publications, including widely cited academic papers published in leading economics journals, and more than 100 international policy events organized. Her academic journey encompasses a B.A. and M.A. (Hons) from the University of Oxford, an M.Sc. from the University Pompeu Fabra, and a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of London.

Abstract: Countries seeking to foster development are increasingly focusing on frontier technologies (FTs) as drivers of economic growth, competitiveness, and sustainable transformation, including green objectives. Designing effective policies for FTs presents complex challenges: how to leverage existing capacities and limited public budgets to pursue ambitious goals; how to balance strategic focus with flexibility; how to enable widespread adoption and scaling; and how to align national priorities with strategic international collaboration and cooperation.

Building on debates and exchanges with policy makers from across the OECD and partner economies within the OECD Working Party on Innovation and Technology Policy (TIP), This seminar will explore current policy orientations in the technology and innovation space, assess gaps in the existing policy knowledge, review practical implementation experiences, and highlight the key challenges policymakers face. The seminar will conclude by identifying open questions for the academic and policy analysis community to support future policymaking.