Breaking Down Walls and Building New Bridges - The Whole of Government Approach in Research & Innovation: Mutual Learning Exercise on the Whole of Government Approach in Research & Innovation Policy. Final Report

The final report on the Whole of Government Approach (WGA) for Research and Innovation policy covers the Mutual Learning Exercise (MLE) that took place between November 2022 and March 2024 with five participating countries: Bulgaria, Finland, Malta, Romania and the Slovak Republic. The MLE allowed the participants to explore the background and features of WGA and its key role to address transformative policy challenges posed by the Sustainable Development Goals. Moreover, many good examples from across and outside the EU of how government institutions have managed to bridge the silos between government structures and processes are described in the report, as well as modes to reinforce stakeholder engagement. The findings include a list of possible WGA tools to apply for different policy situations. The MLE showed that applying WGA is not an easy and straightforward task. All countries face barriers to strengthen collaborative approaches across policy sectors and develop joined up strategic approaches to societal challenges. The exchange of good policy practices during country visits provided the MLE participants with valuable learning opportunities. The report synthesises the highlights of these lessons and good practice examples.