September 18, 2012 A forum was held in Warsaw entitled “How to create a new quality in the approach to eco-innovation in Poland – proposals for solutions and an invitation to cooperation.” The forum was preceded by a conference entitled “(Eco)Innovations – myth or foundation of Polish pro-development policy”, organized by the Institute of Structural Research. The organizer of the forum was the Polish Environmental Technology Platform and, at its invitation, the President of the Management Board of Ekoinwentyka, Damian Kasperczyk, also took part in it as a panelist.
The forum was a panel discussion attended by representatives of companies, business environment organizations, the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of Economy and the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management.
Answers were sought to the questions:
• What are the specific problems related to the development of eco-innovation in Poland and how should they be solved?
• Does the rank of innovations on the public agenda correspond to their importance?
• Are public expenditures on innovation sufficient?
• What is the role of public administration in animating innovation?
• How to improve the efficiency of the scientific and research sector and how to connect it more closely with the private sector?
• What do we want to gain from investing in innovation?
• How to prevent the outflow of the most talented scientists, how to attract new ones from abroad and, finally, how to convince young Poles to take up a career in this sector?
The conclusions drawn from the discussed issues indicated specific areas that require support. They also set the development directions for the Polish Environmental Technology Platform.