On January 27th 2021 the OECD launched the Neuroscience-inspired Policy Initiative (NAEC) in collaboration with the PRODEO Institute. The initiative aims to promote the concept of “Brain Capital” as the triggering element for reconceptualising and revitalising the economy and how it works by building up a network of actors coming from different fields: medicine, neuroscience, philanthropy, business, etc.
The Euro-Mediterranean Economists Association (EMEA) took the lead in the formation of a multi-disciplinary working group aimed at providing a better definition of the Brain Capital concept and its measurement: the Working Group for Brain Capital Initiative (WG4BCI). The WG4BCI went through several meetings and working sessions over more than a year. After the initial idea of building a composite indicator, a Brain Capital Index, due to the complexity of the concept and the willingness to improve its broad understanding, the working group adopted a dashboard approach. It started building a platform with key indicators in June 2022. Meanwhile, on 28 January 2022, the OECD’s NAEC Unit, in a joint initiative with EBRAINS, the Coordinator of the Human Brain Project (HBP) and research infrastructure for the study of the brain, launched an online forum to articulate the vision and critical elements of the future of European brain research and the brain health agenda. The meeting brought together representatives from the French EU Presidency, European Commission, World Health Organisation, scientific societies, patient organisations, health professionals, and leading brain researchers. The second meeting of the group, devoted to the accessibility of brain health data, was held in early May – see the summary here. In June and July 2022, EMEA, the Working Group on Brain Capital Initiative and other institutions launched a series of events to increase the cooperation between institutions around Brain Health and Brain Capital and increase global awareness of the topic.
Rym Ayadi PhD, Euro-Mediterranean Economists Association and Bayes Business School
Andrew S. Nevin, PwC Nigeria
Rapporteur: Sara Ronco, Euro-Mediterranean Economists Association
Andy Keller, CEO/President of Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute
Cara Altimus PhD, Milken Institute
Carol Graham, Brookings Institution and Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute
Conal Smith, Institute of Governance and Policy Studies
Erin Smith, Stanford Medicine and the Global Brain Health Institute
Harris A. Eyre, OECD-PRODEO Institute Neuroscience-inspired Policy Initiative (NIPI),Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute, the Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation at Deakin University
Husseini Manji MD, Johnson & Johnson
Ian H Robertson, Global Brain Health Institute, Trinity College Dublin
Jennifer Gonzalez, Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute
Katelyn Jetelina, Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute
Paweł Świeboda, Director General, Human Brain Project
Theo Edmonds, University of Colorado Denver
William Hynes, OECD New Approaches to Economic Challenges (NAEC)
Eric Storch, Baylor College of Medicine
Shekhar Saxena, Harvard School of Public Health
Carlo Sessa, ISINNOVA
Igor Linkov, Engineering Research and Development Center, US Army Corps of Engineers
The Brain Health Diplomacy (BHD) working group is dedicated to short, medium, and long-term efforts to transform multi-national endeavors via diplomacy to support brain health. Our common mission is to advance brain health through new partnerships, international collaboration, and innovation by developing more equitable systems of care, research, and governmental policies.
The BHD model, developed and elucidated by this multi-national, cross disciplinary team along with the model of Brain Health Innovation Diplomacy (BIND), offers the foundation for far greater global collaboration in brain health research, innovation, and policy change.
BHD seeks to transform the global policy environment, transcend disciplinary boundaries, and mobilize resources at sufficient scale to improve brain health through diplomacy, while BIND acknowledges the key role that technology, entrepreneurship, and digitization play and will increasingly play in the future of brain health for individuals and societies alike.
Rufus Akinyemi (Nigeria, University of Ibadan)
Virginia Bennett (US, Retired, US Department of State)
Carol Brayne (UK, University of Cambridge)
Meryl Comer (US, USAgainstAlzheimer’s, Global Alliance on Women’s Brain Health
Agustín Ibañez (Chile/Argentina, Latin American Brain Health Institute)
Ştefania Ilinca (Austria/Romania, World Health Organization)
Patrick Kennedy (US, Mental Health Advocate)
Sarah Lenz Lock, (US, AARP Global Council on Brain Health)
Yoshiki Niimi (Japan, University of Tokyo)
Craig Ritchie (UK, University of Edinburgh / Brain Health Scotland)
Louise Robinson (UK, Newcastle University)
Mohamed Salama (Egypt, American University in Cairo)
Lenny Shallcross (UK, World Dementia Council)
Heather Snyder (US, Alzheimer’s Association)
Peter Varnum (Norway, Orygen)
Wendy Weidner (UK, Alzheimer’s Disease International)
The Creativity Infrastructure Working Group, a partnership with the University of Colorado Denver’s Imaginator Academy, spearheads a brain skills initiative intent on igniting new growth in U.S. entrepreneurship, corporate innovation, and city innovation districts through formalizing and testing a neuroscience-inspired “creativity infrastructure.” With a target of achieving a 25% surge in American creativity over the next decade, this multi-sectoral and transdisciplinary blueprint aligns changing labor necessities with the World Economic Forum’s top future brain skills. Central to its strategy is the elevation of Social Brain Capital (SBC) — a synergistic blend of cognitive capacity and social well-being. Harnessing cognitive, behavioral, and social brain science, the initiative charts a course towards inclusive futures, coherently dovetailing with the Brain Capital Industrial (BCI) Policy Mission. By striking an equilibrium between technological advancements and innate human creativity, the group focuses its efforts on enriching diverse American enterprise sectors: arts, science, business, and education.
Key Endeavors:
Aims:
Co-Chairs
Working Group Members
“It’s time to change the narrative around how we work and fully leverage our brain capital. And it starts with the actions we take internally, with our own people, to help them emotionally, socially, and cognitively thrive.”
Dan Noble, HKS President and CEO
