What better way to kick off the INET Complexity Economics Group's inaugural research retreat than a castle, a campfire and a couple of games of ‘capture the flag’.
Hosted by Brazier’s Park, a gothic-mansion-turned-residential-college located 30 minutes outside Oxford, the INET Complexity Economics Group spent three days immersed in research discussions, brainstorming sessions and group bonding activities.
Fuelled with delicious vegetarian meals, ample coffee and cake, and the odd evening tipple, discussions ranged from redefining progress, to understanding business cycles, to better modelling climate risk. Many new research ideas and collaboration possibilities were identified over the course of an afternoon "walk and talk” session. Eric Beinhocker and Cameron Hepburn also visited on one evening, and along with Doyne Farmer, shared some pearls of wisdom in an inspiring and entertaining fire-side chat.
Overall, the retreat highlighted the importance of striving to be more than the sum of our parts. And while three days interacting in a castle left many of us exhausted, we all came away with a renewed sense of enthusiasm about the group’s collective potential for tackling important policy questions using innovative, quantitative approaches.
