In the foreword to the new publication 'SMEs, Entrepreneurship and Innovation' OECD write that the combined forces of globalization, technological progress and growing market demand have created a new type of innovation: One that is widespread across many agents and sectors and is open.
This brings in new key players that brings new ideas to the market. These new ideas is transformed into new business and new firms growing rapidly and named "gazelles". These new business and new firms contribute to the economy.
To support this development the OECD publication 'SMEs, Entrepreneurship and Innovation' also explores three major - and yet insufficiently recognized action areas that are new to much of the policy world. These are:
Knowledge flow - collaboration between the agents and sectors
Empower people to innovate - develop and upgrade skills and capabilities in innovation
Social entrepreneurship and social innovation - to respond to social needs and challenges
The intention of the 'SMEs, Entrepreneurship and Innovation' publication is to become a flagship that inspires policy makers to face the challenges of the 21st century.
The Commission of The European Communities points out in the paper 'Competitive European Regions Through Research and Innovation - A Contribution to More Growth and More and Better Jobs' 2007 that in a global economy, competitiveness lies in the capacity of business to create high value-added goods and services. A move toward innovation-based growth is therefore at the heart of the renewed Lisbon agenda which forms the EU response to globalisation.
SvarSletThe paper continues by saying that innovation is most effectively addressed at regional level, as physical fosters the partnership between actors in both public and private sectors.
Furthermore the paper say while EU research policy focuses on promoting excellence at international level, innovation policy focuses on turning knowledge into business opportunities and new solutions for societal needs, including through process and organisational innovations affecting structures, processes and linkages between organisations.