AMHERST, Mass., June 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- In their new book,
How to Change the Future: Lessons from Ireland on Revolutionizing Scientific
Innovation and Economic Prosperity, William
Harris, who formerly served as founding Director General of
Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), and Peter
Mackey, who served as SFI's first Director of
Communications, detail how other small countries can turn the key
ingredients that have made Ireland
a 21st-century innovation powerhouse into their own success
stories. In the book, the co-authors offer a behind-the-scenes look
at 20 strategic steps Ireland took
through SFI to turn itself into a global innovation leader.
Revealing the pivotal decisions that made all the difference, they
show how other countries can put these choices to use for their own
good.
Harris and Mackey document how Ireland, facing the decline of the Celtic
Tiger, created SFI from whole cloth, invested in select fields of
research, and turned itself from a global innovative laggard into
one of the world's most dynamic economies. In SFI, they show, that
small countries across Europe have
a model for aligning government investment, university research,
and industry for economic success. The authors also make clear that
if the newly formed Research Ireland forgets the lessons of SFI's
impact, it risks undermining Ireland's own global competitiveness.
In making their case, the authors also feature the potent
observations of such notable voices as former Irish Prime Minister
Bertie Ahern, former Deputy Prime
Minister Mary Harney, India's most successful female entrepreneur
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, and some of
Europe's most prominent
scientists.
Harris and Mackey, Ahern writes, "have told a story of dramatic
change, a big Irish bet, and the power of cross-sector cooperation.
Far more than that, they have provided practically a blueprint for
how other governments, businesses, universities, and leaders can
capitalize on the lessons Ireland
learned along the way."
As Research Ireland prepares to subsume SFI in the coming
months, the risks have grown that Ireland will forsake its own lessons. In
capturing the significance of SFI's story, How to Change the
Future offers those lessons for leaders across Europe looking to connect scientific talent
and investment to economic growth.
Learn more about How to Change the Future and reach the
authors at https://mackeystrategies.com/books.
Contact: Melanie
Moran, melanie@mackeystrategies.com
Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BsDSosjaIo
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