Global Innovation Index 2015: Effective Innovation Policies for Development

• Author: Catherine Jewell - Sacha Wunsch-Vincent
• Position: Communications Division - Economics and Statistics Division, WIPO

The Global Innovation Index (GII), now in its eight year, benchmarks the innovation performance of 141 economies according to a broad range of indicators which measure innovation inputs – what countries are doing to strengthen their innovation ecosystems – and innovation outputs which measure performance and results. While the GII ranks the innovation performance of the countries surveyed, its overriding aim is to generate insights, identify good practices and to provide practical support to policymakers and business executives in their efforts to improve innovation performance.

The GII 2015 focuses on Effective Innovation Policies for Development, and discusses new ways in which policymakers in emerging economies can harness their innovative potential and drive economic growth.

“Innovation holds far-reaching promise for spurring economic growth in countries at all stage of development. However, realizing this promise is not automatic,” said WIPO Director General Francis Gurry. “Each nation must find the right mix of policies to mobilize the innate innovative and creative potential in their economies,” he added.

“Innovation really is a long-term game. It requires perseverance,” Mr. Gurry said pointing to the “perilous” and “complex” process associated with translating an idea into a successful commercial product. “For many developing countries, this is a major challenge,” he said at the launch of the GII 2015 in London, noting that the report offered interesting lessons for policymakers everywhere to improve their innovation performance.

Rankings

GII 2015 indicates that Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Sweden, the Netherlands, and the United States are the world’s most innovative nations. These countries share fully integrated innovation ecosystems in which investment in human capital combined with strong innovation infrastructures contribute to high levels of creativity.

The GII also shows that the group of top 25 performers – all high income economies –remains largely unchanged, with some exceptions, suggesting that it is very hard to break into the league of top performers. The Czech Republic (ranked 24) moved into the top 25 group and Ireland (ranked 8th) moved into the top 10 countries this year.

Chile, India, Israel, Mauritius and Singapore were also identified as leaders in their respective regions.

Quality matters

Top innovation performers also share a capacity for quality innovation. By this measure, the UK and the US are ahead of...