Triple S leading global innovation ranking
The renowned business school INSEAD has
Press statement
For the second year running, Switzerland, Sweden, and Singaporelead in overall innovation performance according to the GlobalInnovation Index 2012 (GII): Stronger Innovation Linkages forGlobal Growth, published by INSEAD, the leading internationalbusiness school, and the World Intellectual Property Organization(WIPO), a specialized agency of the United Nations.
The report ranks 141 countries/economies on the basis of theirinnovation capabilities and results. It benefits from theexperience of Knowledge Partners Alcatel-Lucent, Booz &Company, and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), as well asan Advisory Board of eleven international experts.
Making innovation funding crisis-proof
The study shows that the dynamics of innovation continue to beaffected by the emergence of new successful innovators, as seen bythe range of countries across continents in the top twenty GIIranking, as well as the good performances of emerging countriessuch as Latvia, Malaysia, China, Montenegro, Serbia, Republic ofMoldova, Jordan, Ukraine, India, Mongolia, Armenia, Georgia,Namibia, Viet Nam, Swaziland, Paraguay, Ghana, Senegal; andlow-income countries Kenya and Zimbabwe.
“The GII is a timely reminder that policies to promoteinnovation are critical to the debate on spurring sustainableeconomic growth,” WIPO Director General Francis Gurry said. “Thedownward pressure on investment in innovation exerted by thecurrent crisis must be resisted. Otherwise we risk durable damageto countries’ productive capacities. This is the time forforward-looking policies to lay the foundations for futureprosperity.”
Top 10 innovation leaders
The list of overall GII top 10 performers has changed littlefrom last year. Switzerland, Sweden, and Singapore are followed inthe top ten by Finland, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands,Denmark, Hong Kong (China), Ireland, and the United States ofAmerica. Canada is the only country leaving the top 10 this year,mirroring weakening positions on all main GII innovation input andoutput pillars. The report shows that the U.S.A. continues to be aninnovation leader but also cites relative shortfalls in areas suchas education, human resources and innovation outputs as causing adrop in its innovation ranking.
- Switzerland
- Sweden
- Singapore
- Finland
- United Kingdom
- Netherlands
- Denmark
- Hong Kong (China)
- Ireland
- United States of America
Regional leaders
The leaders in their regions are: Switzerland in Europe, the USin Northern America, Singapore in South East Asia and Oceania,Israel in Northern Africa and Western Asia, Chile in Latin Americaand the Caribbean, India in Central and Southern Asia, andMauritius in Sub-Saharan Africa. Among low-income economies theleader is Kenya.
Soumitra Dutta, Roland Berger Professor of Business andTechnology at INSEAD and the founder of the GII noted, “The GIIseeks to update and improve the way innovation is measured. Today’sdefinitions must capture an environment which is context-driven,problem-focused and interdisciplinary. The 2012 variables werebroadened in an effort to find the right mix which capturesinnovation as it happens today.”
The report notes a need for the BRIC countries (Brazil, theRussian Federation, India, and China) to invest further in theirinnovation capabilities to live up to their expected potential.China’s performance on the key knowledge and technology outputspillar is outpaced only by Switzerland, Sweden, Singapore, andFinland. However, the report notes that both China and India haveweaknesses in their innovation infrastructure and environment. Thereport also notes that Brazil has suffered the largest drop amongthe BRICs.
“Innovation is becoming the spearhead of competition – at aregional level, on a national level, and for companies,” said BenVerwaayen, CEO of Alcatel-Lucent. “How to deal with that challengewill determine the destiny of competiveness for all players.”
Top 10 innovating nations by efficiency
Complementing the overall GII ranking, the Global InnovationEfficiency Index shows which countries are best in transforminggiven innovation inputs into innovation outputs. Countries whichare strong in producing innovation outputs despite a weakerinnovation environment and innovation inputs are poised to rankhigh in this “efficiency” index.
In the Global Innovation Efficiency Index, China and India leadthe top 10 league of countries. Four of the top 10 countries in theEfficiency Index are lower-middle income countries.
- China
- India
- Republic of Moldova
- Malta
- Switzerland
- Paraguay
- Serbia
- Estonia
- Netherlands
- Sri Lanka
“Developed economies must continue to strengthen and developlinkages amongst stakeholders in the innovation landscape to stayahead in strategic sectors,” said Per-Ola Karlsson, Senior Partner,Managing Director of Europe, Booz & Company. “Similarly,developing economies must institute a national model thatestablishes coherent linkages in their innovation systems. Byaligning cross-cutting policies and coordinating the efforts of allstakeholders, these coherent linkages drive the innovationprocess.”
Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII said, “Every countrycan aspire to be an innovation-driven economy. The moreresource-constrained an economy is, the more prone to innovation itactually can be. Importantly, innovation is about acts whichimprove everyday lives and a journey towardsfaster-sustainable-inclusive-growth”
