4th Global INTAN-Invest Annual Conference “Better Data for Better Business and Policy”

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and Luiss Business School are pleased to announce the 4^th Global INTAN-Invest Annual Conference, which will take place in Rome on 3 – 4 May 2027.

The conference brings together researchers, policymakers, international organisations and practitioners to discuss the latest advances in the measurement and analysis of intangible investment. Building on previous editions, the 2027 conference will focus on the role of policy and finance in fostering intangible investment and supporting long-term economic growth in an increasingly knowledge-based economy. It will highlight analytical, empirical and practical insights for those shaping the next generation of innovation, investment and industrial policy.

Investment in intangible assets has entered a new phase of global importance. According to the latest World Intangible Investment Highlights, produced under the WIPO – Luiss Business School Partnership on Intangible Assets in the Global Economy, global investment in intangible assets exceeded USD 10 trillion for the first time in 2025. Across the economies covered, intangible investment now represents nearly 13% of GDP and has consistently outpaced tangible investment over the past five years.

The latest evidence highlights a structural transformation in the composition of investment, with businesses and governments increasingly investing in software, data, research and development, organisational capital, brands, design, training and other knowledge-based assets. This shift is reshaping productivity, competitiveness and economic resilience across both advanced and emerging economies, raising important questions about how to measure this investment, incentivise it, and capture its benefits for growth, jobs and public revenue.

Artificial intelligence is further accelerating this transformation through two complementary investment waves: a first wave driven by physical infrastructure, including semiconductors, data centres and energy systems, and a second, broader wave characterised by growing investment in data, software, organisational capabilities, skills and innovation. Understanding these dynamics – and ensuring that statistical systems and policy frameworks keep pace – has become increasingly important.

Against this backdrop, the 2027 conference will explore how policy frameworks, financial systems and institutional arrangements can better support investment in intangible assets and strengthen resilience in the face of technological, economic and geopolitical change. It will explore new evidence, analytical approaches and policy options for understanding and unlocking the contribution of intangible assets to long-term growth.

Topics of Interest:

The Scientific Committee welcomes policy-oriented, empirical and theoretical contributions related to intangible investment, including (but not limited to):

• The interplay between intangible capital and artificial intelligence: complementarities, causal mechanisms and evidence of mutual reinforcement between intangible investment and AI adoption.
• The productivity effects of intangible investment and AI adoption, with attention to heterogeneity across advanced and emerging economies.
• The financing of intangible assets: capital market frictions, collateral and appropriability constraints, and their implications for the growth effects of intangible investment.
• Skill complementarities and organisational capital: the human capital, managerial competencies and firm-level capabilities required to realise returns from investment in intangibles and AI.
• Methodological advances in the measurement and capitalisation of intangible assets in national accounts, satellite accounts and firm-level datasets.
• Institutional and legal determinants of intangible investment, including the role of technical standards and competition frameworks.

Interdisciplinary contributions from public policy, economics, finance, management, innovation studies and related disciplines are particularly encouraged.

For any queries, please contact us at globalintaninvest@luissbusinessschool.it.

For reference, you may review the agenda of the 2026 Global INTAN-Invest Annual Conference Here.