Missions may be regarded as a narrative for challenge-oriented policies, as a rationale for directional policies, and as an instrument for coordinating distributed innovation efforts. While the attention for mission-oriented innovation policy is rising, there are still many questions regarding both the governance and the conduct of missions as well as the (adverse) effects they might have on innovation and societal challenges. This research perspective reflects on what missions are, what they can do and potentially engender, and how they can be studied empirically. Rather than a static, predetermined, and closed-off instrument, we contend that missions are best understood as continuously interacting with the structures and interests of governments, markets, and society, aligning (1) problem-based governance targeting societal challenges and (2) innovation governance targeting novelty creation and deployment. This characterisation of missions, as embedded and evolving, advances empirical questions that could guide research into unexplored directions.

中文翻译：

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以任务为导向的创新政策的承诺和前提——反思和前进之路

使命可被视为挑战导向政策的叙述、定向政策的基本原理以及协调分布式创新工作的工具。尽管对以使命为导向的创新政策的关注度正在上升，但在治理和使命的执行以及它们可能对创新和社会挑战产生的（不利）影响方面，仍然存在许多问题。这种研究视角反映了任务是什么、它们可以做什么和可能产生什么，以及如何对它们进行实证研究。我们认为，使命最好理解为与政府、市场和社会的结构和利益不断互动，而不是静态的、预先确定的和封闭的工具，调整 (1) 针对社会挑战的基于问题的治理和 (2) 针对新奇创造和部署的创新治理。这种嵌入和演变的任务特征提出了可以引导研究进入未探索方向的实证问题。