In tech hubs, people with innovative and entrepreneurial mindsets come together to work on new ideas and projects. These hubs often access resources and support to help them grow and develop their ideas further. Many tech hubs are also committed to working closely with government and public sector organizations to help promote innovation and the uptake of good ideas.

The social impacts of tech innovation hubs can be positive when the government and private sector work together to create solutions. By pooling resources and information, they can come up with much better solutions to social issues than either could on their own.

As the role of technology in society continues to grow, tech hubs have an increasingly important role in shaping public policy. Here are four ways that tech hubs can engage policymakers to create a bigger social impact:

1. Begin Engagement at a Subnational Level

Tech innovation hubs that want to engage with policymakers should target local governments or specific agencies. It is easier to penetrate these levels of government than directly engage with national governments. Additionally, healthy competition exists among local governments to be considered the most innovative, open, or tech-savvy. This competition allows for deepening policy engagement and spreading hubs’ innovations.

2. Focus Resources on a Few Priorities

Don’t just focus on one thing and become really good at it. But also, don’t try to do too many things. Innovation ecosystems are more efficient when they have hubs that focus on specific areas. These hubs often start by focusing on one area but eventually expand to take on additional activities. This is usually because there is a gap in their ecosystem. However, hubs need to be careful when they take on too much and stretch themselves too thin.

3. Get Policymakers in Your Circle

It is helpful to attract policymakers to tech innovation hubs to influence policy. This allows them to see the great ideas and solutions being created and understand how the hubs work and how to support them. Policymakers are more likely to listen when they see what is being done rather than being told what to do. Having policymakers visit tech innovation hubs can also help identify champions who can help broadcast the hub’s successes to a larger audience.

4. Explore Policy Engagement with Other Tech Hubs

Different tech hubs in the same country could explore working together to address some risks of individually engaging in policy. This would allow them to make policy requests with a more powerful, united voice. Some potential benefits of collaborating include sharing information, sharing costs, having access to more clients, and getting better branding opportunities for less well-known hubs.

Conclusion

It is clear that technology hubs have the potential to create significant social impact through engagement with policymakers. However, to maximize their impact, technology hubs must carefully consider their strategies for engagement, taking into account policymakers’ unique needs and objectives. Only by working together can technology hubs and policymakers create the positive change that is so desperately needed in our world today.

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Written by Hiran Wickramasinghe