TRUST IN INSTITUTIONAL INTERACTIONS:
BRIDGING THE GAP: PARTNERSHIPS, RESOURCES AND INNOVATION
Wednesday, October 16th 2019
FER, rue de Saint-Jean 98, 1201 Geneva
9:00 – 18:00
The annual Research Forum is the flagship research-outreach event of EU Business School. Held annually in Geneva in the month of October, the Research Forum seeks to establish EU Business School as a platform for high level discussions and agenda-setting with a diverse range of actors from academia, business and industry, international and governmental organizations, NGOs, and States. The foci of the Forum are to discuss global issues, generate new ideas, and explore the potential for holistic solutions by connecting different players. The Forum helps us to discover new directions for research and collaboration and showcase our existing commitments and progress. The theme for the Forum is renewed every year which allows us to stay dynamic and cutting-edge.
Trust, Innovation and Change
Pradeep Kakkattil, Director of Innovations, UNAIDS
Trust and Resource Mobilization
Marion Jansen, Director of the Division for Market Development and Chief Economist at the International Trade Centre (ITC)
Progressive Trust
Rolf Olsen, CEO & Founder of LEIDAR
SPEAKERS
Dirk Craen
President, EU Business School
Luc Craen
Vice President & Managing Director, EU Business School
Crispin Conroy
Representative Director, International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)
Vincent Subilia
Director General, Geneva Chamber of Commerce (CCIG)
Marion Jansen
Chief Economist, Director – Division of Market Development, ITC
H.E. Nasir Ahmad Andisha
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to the United Nations in Geneva
Jaroslaw Ponder
Head of the ITU Office for Europe
Pradeep Kakkattil
Director of Innovations, UNAIDS
Rolf Olsen
CEO & Founder, LEIDAR
Ivan Ureta
Associate professor, SUPSI; Adjunct professor, IE Business School
Yannick Heiniger
Partnership Manager, Office for Digital Transformation and Data, ICRC
Andrew Andrea
CEO, Alliance4Impact
Yuvan Beejadhur
Founder & Managing Partner, Beejadhur Ocean Solutions / Ex Advisor, World Bank
Houman Goudarzi
Head of BI & Industry Engagement, IATA
Gonzalo Wandosell
Dean of the Law and Business Faculty at the Catholic University of Murcia (UCAM)
Luisa Meneghetti
Global Shapers Geneva Hub
Olivier Brenninkmeijer
Academic Dean, Munich Campus, EU Business School
Moz Siddiqui
Senior Manager, Strategic Innovation, Gavi the Vaccine Alliance
Judit Kozenkow
Professor of Economics, EU Business School
Abbas Ahmed Abdullah AlBasha
DBA Candidate, EU Business School
Stef de Jong
Academic Dean, Swiss Campuses, EU Business School
Svetlana Elinova
Registrar, EU Business School
Suddha Chakravartti
Head of Research, EU Business School
AGENDA
9:00 – 9:30
Registration & Welcome Coffee
9:30 – 9:40
Welcome Address
Dirk Craen, President, EU Business School
9:40 – 10:00
Special Address
“The socio political dimension of trust – A brief look.”
H.E. Nasir Ahmad Andisha, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Permanent Representative of Afghanistan to The United Nationas Office and Other International Organizations in Geneva
10:00 – 10:15
Trust as a Key Asset for Institutional Interactions
Suddha Chakravartti, Head of Research, EU Business School
10:15 – 10:30
Keynote Address
Crispin Conroy, Representative Director, International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)
10:30 – 12:00
Panel 1: Partnerships as Key Driver
Moderator: Olivier Brenninkmeijer, Academic Dean, Munich Campus, EU Business School
Collaboration is crucial to achieving the SDGs and advancing humanity’s cuase. Here, stakeholders will share lessons and best practices on the models that driving transformative change.
Panelists:
Crispin Conroy, Representative Director, International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)
Vincent Subilia, Director General, Geneva Chamber of Commerce (CCIG)
Andrew Andrea, CEO, Alliance4Impact
Yannick Heiniger, Partnership Manager, Office for Digital Transformation and Data, ICRC
Jaroslaw Ponder, Head of the ITU Office for Europe
Stef de Jong, Academic Dean, Swiss Campuses, EU Business School
12:00 – 13:30
Lunch Break
13:30 – 13:40
Trust and Leadership
Luc Craen, Managing Director & Vice-President, EU Business School
13:40 – 14:00
Keynote Address
Rolf Olsen, CEO & Founder, LEIDAR
14:00 – 15:30
Panel 2: Innovation for Change
Moderator: Svetlana Elinova, Registrar, EU Business School
Innovations exist as part of a broader ecosystem made up of systems, process and ultimately people. Testing innovations, and modifying them to fit the relevant contexts is a sensitive process. Governments must trust their partners to allow them to test their innovations on populations, and businesses must trust in their products and processes to bring these to markets. The sweet spot for both parties is the difference between success and failure. This session looks at innovation and the surrounding ecosystem needed for it to thrive.
Panelists:
Luisa Meneghetti, Global Shapers Geneva Hub
Pradeep Kakkattil, Director of Innovations, UNAIDS
Ivan Ureta, Associate professor, SUPSI; Adjunct professor, IE Business School
Rolf Olsen, CEO & Founder, LEIDAR
Moz Siddiqui, Senior Manager, Strategic Innovation, Gavi the Vaccine Alliance
Gonzalo Wandosell, Dean of the Law and Business Faculty at the Catholic University of Murcia (UCAM)
15:30 – 16:00
Coffee Break/Networking Session
16:00 – 16:20
Keynote Address
Marion Jansen, Chief Economist, Director – Division of Market Development, ITC
16:20 – 17:50
Panel 3: Mobilizing Resources
Moderator: Suddha Chakravartti, Head of Research, EU Business School
Sustainable financing for any project is crucial to its survival, more so in the context of development where resources have typically been provided by donors. Innovative development partners are exploring new approaches to creating lasting value with their existing donor bases, as well as new approaches to resource mobilisation that leverage private sector expertise, networks and resources in a way that facilitates socio-economic development and also allows businesses record tangible benefits.
Panelists:
Marion Jansen, Chief Economist, Director – Division of Market Development, ITC
Yuvan Beejadhur, Founder & Managing Partner, Beejadhur Ocean Solutions / Ex Advisor, World Bank
Judit Kozenkow, Professor of Economics, EU Business School
Abbas Ahmed Abdullah AlBasha, DBA Candidate, EU Business School
Houman Goudarzi, Head of BI & Industry Engagement, IATA
17:50 – 18:00
Call to Action and Closing Note
Suddha Chakravartti, Head of Research, EU Business School
18:00
Network Cocktails
EU Business School, Geneva Campus
Quai du Seujet, 18
1201 Geneva
OUTCOMES
EU Business School, through ON Research – its research platform, is inviting experts, leaders, and shapers from academia, businesses, governments, international organizations, think tanks, and NGOs, to once again discuss and deliberate on some of the most pressing issues of today under the auspices of its annual Research Forum. Now in its second year, the Forum intends to generate new ideas for research and partnerships, while providing thought leadership and direction in shaping our common and shared future. Building on the lessons learned and successes of last year, where we discussed the modalities of public-private collaborations in humanizing development – we realized that one of the key human components of collaboration at all levels was trust. Hence, this year we will focus on the essentials of trust in bridging the gap between ideas and solutions.
Trust: Bridging the Gap
Today, we arguably live in the most free, prosperous, progressive, inclusive, and innovative epoch in human history. Human progress, aided by technolgy, has meant that erstwhile physical and mental barriers are slowly being eroded. When you think about it, we do in fact live in a borderless world. While we keep pushing our boundaries with infinite innovative potential, our progress has also come at a large cost – a cost so gargantuan, that we need to rethink our narrative on progress and development. Despite our advancement, our world today is equally vulnerable to financial booms and busts, climate change, protracted conflicts, resource depletion, global pandemics, and natural disasters.
In today’s borderless, interdependent and interconnected world that we live in, no single agency or entity, state or private, will have the wherewithal to tackle the complex challenges we face. In fact, if we aspire to set the narrative of a “shared and common future,” the burden of facing the challenges has to be shared universally by everyone. This principle is one of the cornerstones of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. While the Sustanable Development Goals calls for universality of action, it is contingent upon whether we can forge strong partnerships; devise innovative solutions; and mobilize the adequate resources to sustain them.
Sustainable solutions to our many challenges can only emerge when everyone acts responsibly together. And for this, trust is the key asset in building effective and sustained partnerships. It is by far the cheapest and most effective asset that can be deployed to solve a problem. Thus, trust in all our interactions should be seen as a core-foundational value. However, in the current global scenario – trust in governments, institutions and businesses are on a decline in most parts of the world. The lack of common political will; hubristic domestic policies; the proliferation of misinformation and disinformation; and the lack of accountability of our institutions and leaders further impedes our goals of a sustainable future. What we need is global leadership and good governance to bridge the gap, and for that trust will be vital.
WITHOUT TRUST WE DON’T TRULY COLLABORATE; WE MERELY COORDINATE OR, AT BEST, COOPERATE. IT IS TRUST THAT TRANSFORMS A GROUP OF PEOPLE INTO A TEAM.
Stephen M.R. Covey
Partnerships as Key Driver
Last year, we discussed the various modalities of public-private collaborations in the delivery of global public goods and finding effective solutions to complex challenges. Such multiparty stakeholder approach enshrines the universality principle, and has the possibility for unlocking innovative potentials through cross-cutting capacities. Yet, one of the major bottlenecks in such collaborative frameworks remains the question of trust. The lack of trust not only hinders collaborations, but magnifies the differences and reluctance between different sectors by creating a prevailing sense of inequity in desired capabilities, objectives and outcomes. This year, we will try to reflect on the elemental aspect of trust in creating win-win partnerships.
Innovation that Influences Change
Innovation is the process through which we bring about change and improvement in our world. Yet, to truly unlock our innovative capacities, we require a certain set of prerequisites. First, we should not restrict our understand of innovation as an “end,” but as a “means” or “process.” Second, most innovations occur in collaborative environments. In both cases, trust is the hinge that holds any innovative process together by allowing the necessary collaborations and resources to be accessed and freed up. In this section, we will discuss both the successes and obstacles faced by businesses, states, and institutions alike, in their quest for innovative solutions. We will highlight how better synergies and collaborative processes based on trust can foster innovation.
Mobilizing Resources
Resource mobilization is an essential component in financing innovative solutions to our many challenges. Still, the lack of trust in our international system inhibits access to vital resources by both businesses and states. The rise of populism, fake-news, the lack of transparency, protectionism, and trade-wars – just to name a few, restrict the mobilization of vital resources. Furthermore, the paralysis and the “loss of trustworthiness” of many global institutions further exacerbates the issue. What is missing is strong global governance that will provide an impetus to both businesses and governments alike to mobilize the necessary financing required to achieve the 2030 Agenda. We intend to look at not just the challenges of resource mobilization, but also deliberate on which models of resource mobilization are more effective.