On September 26, the Global Policy Research Group is hosting the first European Progress Conference in Brussels.

This is a curated gathering of entrepreneurs, scientists, policymakers, funders, and thinkers brought together by a shared goal: to revive ambition in Europe and catalyze advances in science, technology, health, and governance that create shared prosperity.

Why this conference?

Europe stands at a crossroads: the continent that pioneered the Industrial Revolution, created the World Wide Web, and built CERN now struggles with sluggish growth, outdated regulatory frameworks, and innovation ecosystems that can't compete globally. Regional and global problems that European science and institutions could help solve remain unaddressed.  But across Europe, entrepreneurs, researchers, and policy professionals are working to change this trajectory. This event brings together those individuals and groups pushing for progress across science, industry, economy and the institutions that support them.  

What do we want to achieve? 

1) Kickstart a much-needed new intellectual movement: one that puts optimism and progress back at the heart of the European project.

2) Launch the European Progress Network: entrepreneurs, scientists, funders (both corporate and philanthropic), and thinkers who combine ambition with execution. We’ll coordinate builders and thinkers who understand both what's possible and what's achievable.

3) Develop an actionable shared agenda: mapping what bottlenecks progress across multiple sectors and problems, and which solutions would clear the path towards a better future in Europe and beyond.

What’s different?

• Sessions will be small (20 people), off-record, and focused on identifying and resolving bottlenecks.
• Participants are handpicked for what they’ve built—startups, research agendas, new institutions, or policy wins.
• Sessions are designed to bridge worlds: science + policy + philanthropy + entrepreneurship + think tanks.

Sessions include:

• Removing Bottlenecks to European Startups
• The Path to Energy Abundance
• Upgrading the EU’s Institutional Capacity
• Reviving the Culture of Ambition in Europe
• A New Science Policy for 21st Century
• Improving the European Talent Ecosystem
• And more…

Why we’re sharing here

Many individuals in the EA community are already working on the kinds of long-term, institutionally grounded projects this event is designed to accelerate: improving policy design, reforming systems, building infrastructure, and scaling urgently needed solutions. 

We believe European progress matters on its own terms: 450 million people deserve progress rather than stagnation. But we also believe in Europe's potential for contributing to global progress on issues central to us, and the EA community. 

European pharmaceutical regulations and funding mechanisms influence which diseases get attention, including neglected conditions in LMICs.  When European biosecurity frameworks are strengthened, it strengthens global pandemic preparedness. When Europe enacts AI regulations, it influences developers and deployers everywhere. With declining global development and science funding in the US,  thinking and building to drive progress in the EU is not a regional issue, it’s a global one.

We’re particularly keen to engage:

• Think tankers and policy experts working on critical problems and tractable solutions
• Entrepreneurs and scientists with insights on what holds progress back in their field and ideas on what can be done 
• Funders and regrantors interested in unlocking progress in Europe and beyond 

If this resonates with you, apply here to join the conference.

We’ll share public outcomes afterward, but we plan for the true impact to happen behind the scenes, with new collaborations, shared agendas, and actionable next steps.