Innovation is essential for sustainable growth. Countries should maintain their R&D investments and cooperate internationally to protect their innovation momentum in the face of low-growth scenarios.
The Human Brain Project (HBP), a global, 10-year scientific research project aimed at advancing the understanding of neuroscience, brain-inspired computing and brain-related medicine, got under way in 2013. This European Commission initiative, born from the seminal work of Professor Henry Markram, from École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland, provides the scientific community with the infrastructure to collaborate and make new inroads into the study of neuroscience, and a total funding of 1 billion Euros.
Such cooperation isn’t unusual in Europe. The EUREKA programme, a publicly-funded, intergovernmental network involving over 40 countries was created in 1985 to enhance European competitiveness by ‘promoting innovation across borders’..
Government policy, strong R&D spending and coordination characterise groupings such as HBP and EUREKA. These factors also make countries more innovative. Switzerland yet again tops this year’s Global Innovation Index (GII), ahead of seven other European countries in the top 10, Singapore (ranked 6th) and the U.S. (4th). Switzerland and its peers got top marks across major pillars of our index, such as the strength of institutions, infrastructure, human capital and research and market sophistication.
2016 TOP 10
1. Switzerland
2. Sweden
3. United Kingdom
4. United States
5. Finland
6. Singapore
7. Ireland
8. Denmark
9. Netherlands
10. Germany
Leveraging global innovation
The index, a collaboration in itself between INSEAD, Cornell University and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), finds that investments in R&D and innovation are central to economic growth; helping developed countries reinvent themselves in times of economic decline and emerging countries answer their societies’ growing needs.
While science and innovation are more internationalised and collaborative than ever before, countries sometimes tend to perceive each other as contenders rather than collaborators. Countries can overcome this by approaching innovation as a global positive effort instead of a zero-sum game.
We also find that sustained investment is critical. It may be tempting to scale back investment during times of low-growth or economic uncertainty, but it pays to keep it up as “stop-and-go” approaches quickly erase progress made in previous years.
Big achievers
China still only spends a small share of its research budget on basic R&D in comparison to the leaders, but its expenditures are getting closer to those of rich countries. It makes a symbolic entry into the GII top 25 this year, the first middle income country to do so. The top 25 is typically comprised of high income countries. China’s progress has been remarkable in innovation quality, output and efficiency. Similar improvements have also helped other middle-income countries such as Bulgaria (38), Costa Rica (45) and Romania (48). Among the lower income countries, Moldova (46), Ukraine (56) and Vietnam (59) all outperform their peers in the same income group by at least 10 percent. Thus, China’s progress can be seen as a harbinger for future advancements, bridging the divide between rich and poor countries, an ongoing and defining feature of the GII.
View the full article http://knowledge.insead.edu/entrepreneurship/the-worlds-most-innovative-countries-2016-4864