SFU Presents Mariana Mazzucato – Value, Innovation and Moonshots: What’s possible for BC’s Future?

When: Wednesday, October 20, 2021 | 8:30 a.m. (Pacific Time)
Where: Online | Free with registration

Mariana Mazzucato is one of the most influential—and for some, the “scariest”—economists in the world.

In her latest book, Mission Economy: A Moonshot Guide to Changing Capitalism, Mazzucato argues that capitalism is stuck. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, it had no answers to a host of problems, including disease, inequality, the digital divide and, perhaps most concerningly, the environmental crisis. Mazzucato argues that governments and other public sector institutions must play a critical role—in partnership with the private sector and engaged citizens—in leading missions to tackle the grand challenges of our times.

A Professor in the Economics of Innovation and Public Value at University College London (UCL) and a 2020 SFU honorary degree recipient, Mazzucato advises policymakers around the world on innovation-led, inclusive and sustainable growth. She and her team at UCL’s Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP) have been hired by the Government of British Columbia to advise on a long-term economic plan that will steer the province through the post-pandemic era.

Mazzucato will challenge us to reconceptualize value and think about how mission-oriented innovation could contribute to British Columbia’s unique economic context. The lecture will be followed by a conversation and audience Q&A moderated by Stephanie Bertels, Director of SFU Beedie’s Centre for Corporate Governance and Sustainability.

This lecture is presented with support from the BMO Lecture Series and John M. Munro Lecture endowments. It is co-produced by SFU Public Square and the SFU Centre for Corporate Governance and Sustainability.

For details and a full bio for Mariana Mazzucato, go here.