Innovation surveys and measurement of innovation activities
Micheline Goedhuys
UNU-INTECH,Maastricht, the Netherlands
University of Antwerp, Belgium
May 30, 2005 Globelics Academy 2005, Lisbon 2
Relevance of innovation surveys
• Scarcity of data in general, on innovation in particular
• Stimulate research on innovative behaviour of firms
• monitoring and evaluation of policies • Systemic nature of innovation calls for firm
level information
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Overview of session
• Measuring innovation: conceptual background
• Overview of innovation surveys worldwide• Use of innovation surveys• Designing a survey for Africa: choices made• Survey instrument and its use
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Conceptual background
• linear view that science, research and discovery underlie innovation
• innovation measured by science indicators: – R&D– engineers– patenting– bibliometrics, publications, citation indices
• surveys (USA, 1960s) collecting R&D, patent data;
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Conceptual background
End 1980s, 1990s ‘activity approach’:• investigating the ‘black box’• innovation results from interaction firm-
market, learning, feedback (chain-link model of Kline and Rosenberg 1986)
• need for indicators capturing non-R&D activities and incremental change
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Conceptual background
• Harmonisation of survey efforts in the
‘Oslo Manual’, 1992, 1997, …• basis for Community Innovation Surveys• Measurement: innovation is measured as an
activity (R&D, design, acquisition of machinery, technology, training) and an output (introduction of product or process innovations)
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Conceptual background
Characteristics of innovation in developing countries:
• Importance of incremental innovation; Organisational and marketing innovation;
• Importance of innovation embodied in machinery and equipment (dissemination)
• Importance of agriculture; increased knowledge intensity in resource based sectors
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Conceptual background
Characteristics of innovation in developing countries:
• Less private and more informal RD • Fragmented flows of information• Market structure : Small firm size and
informality, foreign and state ownership• Barriers to innovation:Uncertainty,
infrastructure, lack of awareness, lack of government support instruments
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Conceptual background
Towards an ‘innovation system approach’:• innovation takes place in firm and system• role of governments• inclusion of services and resource based
sectors• broader concept of innovationOngoing work for NEPAD;
Expertise in Asia, Africa and Latin America, resulting in Annex to the Oslo Manual and TPB
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CIS
• First regional effort to collect innovation data: CIS-1; 13 European countries, 1990-2
• CIS-2; 1994-1996; +4 countries, services• CIS-3; 1998-2000; more firms, more
questions• CIS-4: 2002-04
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IS in Latin America
• Chile (4), Brazil (2), Mexico (2), Panama (1), Peru (1), Venezuela (1)
• Argentina (2), Colombia (3), Uruguay (2)• Paraguay (1), Cuba (1), Ecuador (1)
• Bogotà Manual 2000
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Innovation surveys
In Southeast Asia:• Malaysia (3), Taiwan (1), Singapore (1)
Thailand (2)
In Africa: • South Africa (2)
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Questionnaire Content (Oslo)
• Basic information on the firm: turnover, employment, activity, linkage with foreign firms
• Did your firm introduce any new or improved products/processes (and sales from them)
• Innovation activities (expenditures): R&D intramural, R&D extramural, acq. machinery, acq. External technology, industrial design, training, market intro
• R&D personnel, patent application
• Objectives, goals or reasons for innovating
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Questionnaire content (2)
• Sources of information for innovation
• Cooperation or collaboration for innovation (with competitors, customers, universities, government)
• Impact of innovations on firm performance
• Obstacles to innovation
• Government policy or incentives affecting innovation
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Comparison of surveys
• Organisation: national statistics agency, MOST, universities, consultants
• Reference period: 2 or 3 years (mostly 3)• Participation: voluntary, mandatory (in Latin
America)
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Comparison of surveys (2)
• Survey modalities: postal, PTEF follow up, personal interview, telephone interview, online questionnaire, CATI
• Sectoral coverage• Firm size: cutoff points: 5, 10, 20 or 50
workers
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Use of innovation surveys
• by academics and researchers– Identify determinants to innovate– Identify constraints – Innovation and firm performance– Innovation strategies– Regional and country studies– Sector studies– Innovation patterns over time– Developing innovation indicators: measurement
issues
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Use of innovation surveys
• for policy making:
– Indicators for benchmarking– Mapping innovation ; innovation in new
sectors– Assessing trends – Monitoring specific policy instruments
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• Example– European innovation scoreboard : uses 20
indicators• Cross-country comparisons, sectoral comparisons • changes over time• consensus in policy action
– uses CIS based indicators• % SMEs with in-house innovative activities• % SMEs that collaborate on innovation• total innovation expenditures as % sales• % new-to-market products/sales• % new-to-firm products/sales
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A policy-relevant survey for Africa
• An innovation system oriented survey - focus on the firm
• use of aggregate S&T indicators to complement firm-level innovation data
• use of panel data: trends, adaptive policy making• length of questionnaire• scope• stratified random sample • questions easy to understand, respond and code
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Proposed questionnaire
General information questions:
name,
year started,
address,
education and global exposure of owner,
# scientists engineers employed,
ownership, sector, evolution of size and exports
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Proposed questionnaire
Innovation questions:
• Licensing; licence contract, year obtained, from a local or foreign firm or research institute
• Linkages (subcontracting & outsourcing);
• New machinery and equipment, expend.;
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Introduced new/ improved existing product/process;
new waste management procedures,
maintenance routines,
quality controls,
training programs;
new ways of organizing production and marketing
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• Reasons• Sources of information• Collaboration• Impact• Obstacles
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Proposed questionnaire
• S&T indicators: # R&D employees and expenditures,
patents granted,
use internet
• Policy impact
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Suggested reading or sources for further consultation
• Smith, Keith, 2004, Measuring innovation, in: Oxford handbook of innovation, chapter 6, p.149-175
• UNU-INTECH, Designing a policy relevant innovation survey for NEPAD, forthcoming
• The OSLO Manual, downloadable from the internet
• The Bogota Manual, downloadable from the internet
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