Rainer Kattel

Rainer Kattel is Deputy Director and Professor of Innovation and Public Governance at the UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP). He has studied at the University of Tartu, Estonia, and the University of Marburg, Germany, in philosophy, political philosophy, classics and public administration. He led Ragnar Nurkse School of Innovation and Governance for 10 years, building it into one of the leading innovation and governance schools in the region. Professor Kattel has also served on various public policy commissions, including the Estonian Research Council and European Science Foundation. He has worked as an expert for the OECD, UNDP and the European Commission, and served as a member of E-Estonia Council advising the Prime Minister of Estonia. Currently, he leads the Estonian Government’s Gender Equality Council.

Rainer has published extensively on innovation policy, its governance and specific management issues. His research interests also include public sector innovation, digital transformation in the public sector and financialisation. His recent books include “The Elgar Handbook of Alternative Theories of Economic Development” (edited with Erik Reinert and Jayati Gosh; Elgar, 2016) and “How to make an Entrepreneurial State. Why Innovation needs Bureaucracy” (with Wolfgang Drechsler and Erkki Karo; Yale, 2022), the latter is the 2023 winner of George R. Terry Book Award by the Academy of Management. In 2013, he received Estonia’s National Science Award for his work on innovation policy.