This Paper is prepared for the Eurostat Conference, “Knowledge Economy – Challenges for Measurement” that will be held in Luxembourg, December 8-9, 2005 by Carter Bloch in The Danish Centre for Studies in Research and Research Policy, University of Aarhus, Finlandsgade 4, 8200 Aarhus N., Denmark; Tel. (+45) 8942 2398, E-mail: [email protected]
The World Bank Institute´s Knowledge for Development (K4D) program helps developing countries make more effective use of knowledge for their overall economic and social development. The K4D program provides knowledge assessment and policy development services, capacity building and skills enhancement services. As part of its toolkit, the K4D program uses a Knowledge Assessment Methodology (KAM) that helps to benchmark how an economy compares with its neighbors, competitors, or others it wishes to emulate.
The competitive industrial performance (CIP) index, developed by UNIDO for developing countries mainly, benchmarks competitive industrial activity by countries against the backdrop of liberalization and globalization. The index is based on four variables that capture different aspects of competitive performance.
Is it possible to measure individual innovations? Which innovation is most important: the Internet or the Cell phone?
CNN presented the top 25 innovations of the past quarter century, selected by a panel of technology leaders assembled by the Lemelson-MIT Program.
A paper by Wulong Gu and Jianmin Tang
Examining innovation performance of Canadian manufacturing industries over the 1980–1997 period, the two authors found that almost all industries, with the exception of rubber and plastic, non-metallic mineral, and refined petroleum and coal products, became more innovative. Innovation performance was estimated with respect to four observable indicators:
European Trend Chart on Innovation outlines five methods for calculating a composite innovation index from a number of analytical indicators. These methods may be useful for estimating overall innovation performance of countries, regions, industry sectors, even companies. For each method the advantages and disadvantages are presented.
The Oslo Manual is an initiative of OECD, the European Commission and Eurostat focusing on the measurement of innovation. It has two objectives: to provide a framework within which existing surveys in OECD countries can evolve towards comparability; and to assist newcomers to this important field.