Table 1.

Recommendations to advance the brain economy

Investments

To better unlock understanding and new approaches to managing our brains, we require much more investment in brain science, neurotechnology, start-ups, health and educational systems.

We recommend not just to consider conventional investment approaches which are purely profit-seeking, but also other impact-oriented and longer-term approaches. For example, public-private-philanthropic partnership models are engineered to tackle challenges requiring deep, system-level transformation, which in turn require patience, an understanding of the needs and constraints of a broad set of actors, the ability to bring these actors together around well-defined objectives, the willingness to take a longer-term perspective, the capacity to run a robust day-to-day operation, and an appetite for experimentation. 4P models aligned to the brain economy include the Baycrest Centre for Brain Health and Aging, the Davos Alzhiemer’s Collaborative, the Ontario Brain Institute and the UCSF Dyslexia Center. Such models must be assessed and developed across the lifespan and in health and skill domains.

We also encourage the development of novel industrial innovation strategies, as outlined in text.

Finally, moving forward, we will need longer-term forms of investing and we suggest that impact investors with more ‘patient capital’ (e.g. a 10–20 year time horizon such as public pension funds and sovereign wealth funds) are better suited for effective brain capital investments compared to politicians with a 2-to-5-year time horizon and venture capital’s 5-to-7-year time horizon.

We note the Japanese Government’s MIRAI Moonshot Project has bold ambitions for transformative society enhancing technologies for 2050. Their Goal 9 aims to realise a mentally healthy society by increasing peace of mind and vitality by 2050.

Policy innovation

Infusing brain science into public policy is a key component of the transition to the brain economy. If the brain economy is to be comprehensive, we must therefore consider brain science innovation in all policy areas, from healthcare, to nature, to digital, foreign affairs, built environment, sustainability and social services. For example, we have previously extensively profiled the importance of reforms to the industrialised food system which is currently undermining population-level Brain Capital (50).

Continuing to advance the regulatory and responsible innovation neurotechnology frameworks outlined in this paper are vital.

We must also explore the development of some kind of Brain Capital Pact, to enable extensive, international collaboration towards a transformative impact of brain capital. Such a collaboration should be ‘neural’—a constellation of inter-dependent regions, nodes and pathways, bridging and activating between sectors, disciplines, systems and jurisdictions, inc sub-national. Given Brain Capital’s cross-cutting nature, it is ideally placed to serve as a platform for defining the post-UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) post-2030 framework. Such a pact must consider cross-government coordination and supporting policies, the role of public-private partnerships in fostering economic prosperity and social wellness, and new models for mental well-being. It must consider the concept of a global parliamentary working group on brain health and the brain-based economy driven by large middle-income countries (India, Indonesia, Brazil and Nigeria).

Measurement

Further refinement of the recently released Global Brain Capital Dashboard is key to advancing the brain economy transition (51).

To build the complete Dashboard, novel indicators were extracted from a wide range of data sources under the banner of three pillars: Brain Capital Drivers, Brain Health and Brain Skills. Brain Capital Drivers refers to the factors that boost or impede the accumulation of brain capital throughout the life course. Some of these factors include digitalisation, health services, the natural environment, education and social connections. Brain Health examines the mental and neurological health of the population at scale. The domain chronicles the absence of disorders, as well as different issues throughout the human lifespan (childhood, adolescence and aging-related issues). The Brain Skills domain captures key areas for the accumulation of Brain Capital such as cognitive skills, non-cognitive skills, mental flourishing and mental resilience.