Innovation and future challenges

Abstract

This chapter draws upon the earlier chapters of this book to comment on innovation measurement and how it might be of use in monitoring or evaluating policies. What is different is that the innovation discussed here may be happening in any or all of the economic sectors, not just the business sector, and the activities in the sectors may be linked. This emphasizes the systems dimension as part of understanding the role of innovation and the monitoring and evaluation of innovation policy. The world is changing rapidly, and, for some time, there has been policy interest in sustainable development and climate change, topics which overlap. While the environment is changing in response to human activity, the economy is changing as it becomes progressively more digital. The challenge is understanding these changes, through statistical measurement, leading to indicators that inform policy development, and not just measurement of activities in economic sectors, in isolation. In 2015 the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (Box 9.1) were introduced with the expectation that the targets would be met by 2030 (United Nations 2015). The task in this chapter, indeed in this book, is to examine how understanding innovation, in any or all economic sectors, can help. This is not as simple as it might seem. Turning to climate change, there is a Framework for the Development of Environmental Statistics (FDES) but there is no reference to ‘innovation’ in the indicators present in the framework. As with the SDGs, the absence of ‘innovation’ is an issue considered here. ‘Green growth’ and the expectation that green activities and innovation protect the environment while generating economic growth are considered, as are innovation policies for inclusive growth. In both cases, the importance of the innovation systems approach and analysis of innovation is emphasized.