Evolutionary targeting

Evolutionary Targeting is a dynamic, systems-evolutionary policy perspective which focuses on triggering, re-enforcing and sustaining market-led evolutionary processes of emergence of Multiagent Structures (industries, clusters, markets, etc). A major aspect is leveraging existing successes in firms to promote emergence of such structures. This requires discrete policy interventions directed at varying areas of system/market failure, which make their appearance at difference phases of the overall process. The paper briefly illustrates the approach through an analysis of VC policies in Israel and selected European countries, and by referring to the traditional view of Infant Industry development and existing views on high tech cluster development. The resulting framework of analysis, which differs radically from the 'Picking Winners' policies of the past and from the successful targeting of infant industries in Korea and post war Japan, seems to fit the increasingly turbulent and high return/high risk global environment prevailing today.