October 11, 2016 DELab UW at the Readie conference

This was the first plenary meeting attended by over 100 ministers, secretaries of state, representatives of public administration and elected representatives from 23 countries who shape the digitalization strategies of Europe. The panelists discussed building a common policy supporting new technologies and creating an atmosphere conducive to innovation. Among the representatives of 23 countries present, the floor was taken by leading futurist, Pat Kane, former Minister of Digital Affairs of Taiwan, Jaclyn Tsai and Deputy Prime Minister of Slovenia, Boris Koprivnikar. Three key issues were considered during the meeting: 1. What kind of future do we want? How do we imagine the world in 2050? 2. How can representatives of public administration use digital tools (e.g. e-governance) to improve the process of managing the state and its citizens? 3. How can good practices used in the process of digitalization of European countries be transformed into the common success of the modern digital world? The panelists emphasized the challenges related to the insufficient competitiveness of the European digital economy compared to the leading innovation centers in the USA and Asia. Important reasons for this state of affairs include: insufficient scalability of European start-ups and the growing phenomenon of early relocation of newly established ICT companies established in the EU, primarily to Silicon Valley. This results in the advantage of the US over the EU in creating so-called "unicorns", i.e. start-ups worth over USD 1 billion (in 2015, only 13 companies in the EU obtained such status, compared to as many as 22 start-ups in the US). The need to support the "sector" of start-ups by creating a friendly regulatory environment at both the national and EU level was also emphasized (including write-offs of expenditure on innovation, pro-investment tax relief, programs co-financing technologies and innovative solutions). In this context, the EU Horizon 2020 programme and the Start-up Europe Initiative were welcomed, as they provide start-ups, especially those operating in the ICT sector, with funding, expert advice (including legal assistance) and access to cooperative knowledge exchange networks (networking).