This special session aims to explore the possibilities and challenges of mission-oriented innovation policies for regions. Mission-oriented policies identify challenges and draw together partners and resources towards addressing these goals. These policies first gained attention as mechanisms for national governments and research-intensive businesses to bring science and technology to bear on grand challenges such as the Apollo landings.

In recent years, however, research has begun to explore the potential for broader forms of innovations to also be used as the basis to tackle complex societal and ecological challenges, such as climate change, healthcare, and energy, among others.

Developing such missions at the regional and local levels offers opportunities for actors to bring local knowledge to address place-based issues and needs. Localised ‘micro’ responses to grand challenges are, however, unlikely to be sufficient to address complex social and ecological challenges. Multi-level governance linkages and the potential scaling up of successful mission to grand challenges represent an area where research is required if the promise of the regional missions approach is to be realised.