Next Generation Innovation Policy

Overview

The future of EU innovation policy to support market growth.

This report demonstrates that innovation policy around the world is becoming increasingly complex, and such complexity is even more visible in a multi-level government framework such as the European Union.

However, it would be unfair to state that the European Union - and in particular the European Commission - have paid insufficient attention to the problem of the "innovation gap" between the EU and other regions of the world. The proliferation of initiatives in support of innovation has been breathtaking in the past decade, but notwithstanding the efforts devoted at EU and national level, EU competitiveness in the global economy is falling backwards, with the US and Japan consolidating their lead, and BRIC countries quickly catching up.

As we state in this report, an analysis of the emerging trends in markets and industries shows that a well-conceived innovation strategy must use a broader set of tools compared to what has traditionally been the domain of innovation policy.