Panel conversation – Strengthening trust and social capital to build competitiveness
Social capital is essential to advance innovation, competitiveness, and economic growth. All initiatives that further those complex agendas require various stakeholders’ convincement, mobilization, and engagement. And partnership-building is much smoother and easier when trust, the ultimate social glue, is in place. This panel conversation will discuss the secrets to building trust and strengthening social capital in practice, creating the social fabric needed to advance innovation and competitiveness efforts.
Saurabh Biswas, Executive Director of Commercialization and Entrepreneurship, Texas A&M Engineering Station, USA
James Metson, Deputy-Vice Chancellor (Research), University of Auckland, New Zealand
Igor Papič, Minister of Education, Science, and Sport, Slovenia
Phillip Phiri, Executive Director, National Competitiveness Office, Zimbabwe
Moderator: George Handjinicolaou, Chairman, Piraeus Bank, Greece
Discussion questions:
- What are the critical success factors that build trust and social capital?
- What are some global examples that demonstrate trust-building in society?
- What tools are used to build social capital and trust and enable competitiveness, policy change, and innovation?