Innovation and the role government (4)
“Countries that regularly outperform others on innovation not only spend more on science and technology (as a proportion of GDP) but they also institute policies that drive innovation demand and supply. To be a leader requires public policy that systematically promotes national innovation and helps cutting-edge sectors achieve their global potential.”
“Innovation Overview” is part of “How Canada Performs” a report released by The Conference Board of Canada.
“The successful experience of the Nordic countries, Singapore, the United States or Korea shows that a coherent government vision on the importance of ICT, coupled with an early focus on education and innovation, are key not only for spurring networked readiness, but also to lay the foundations for sustainable growth (…) Many countries like, for example, Singapore, Estonia and Finland have very sophisticated national policies (…) countries need effective public/private partnerships because the government cannot do it alone, neither can the private sector.”
Irene Mia, Senior Economist of the Global Competitiveness Network at the World Economic Forum, as quoted by a Finfacts’ article.
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The two articles I referred above happen to discuss Canadian and Irish concerns about the fitness of those countries innovation policies. The Conference Board’s report gives Canada a ‘D’ noting that most of the country’s companies do not take chances with leading edge technologies, thus falling behind industry leaders. The same report refers to Ireland as the best improved country. However, Finfact’s article complains about Irish politicians’ lack of strategic vision and disjointed initiatives. Ireland has been downgraded in The Global Information Technology Report 2007-2008 released by the World Economic Forum.
The above table shows side by side the outcome of three different studies. In case you wonder if this is an apples to apples comparison, “The Networked Readiness Index” is part of a report under the title “Fostering Innovation Through Network Readiness”. The rollout of ICT, Information and Communication Technologies, being a leading indicator illustrating a ’cause and effect’ relationship as ICT happen to be key to a country’s competitiveness in the XXI century. When reading these rankings, whether a country ranks 1st or 2nd might be less relevant than being among the top, mid or lower tiers as far as policy making is concerned.
Related posts:
- Innovation and the role of government (1)
- Innovation and the role of government (2)
- Innovation and the role of government (3)
- The 2008 Global Venture Capital Survey
- The Top 10 Best R&D Companies in the World
| J. de Francisco |  |
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| Chicago, IL. 3 July 08 |  |
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