Research, innovation and competitiveness in a changing world

Abstract

This paper is concerned with an assessment of approaches being undertaken by countries to promote research investment and innovation as a competitive advantage that leads to wealth creation and economic well-being. Following from an overview of challenges facing Europe, the work includes a study of policy instruments being implemented by the Governments of the UK, Canada, Germany and China. With the changing landscape brought about by international events such as Brexit, the paper will point to strategic directions that are being undertaken by countries such as the UK. To give a wider perspective, an evaluation based on performance indicators developed by the EU Commission Innovation Scoreboard is presented. This is correlated with the Global Competitiveness Index developed by the World Economic Forum.