Innovation Strategy for Education and Training

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Innovation is an engine for economic growth in the globalized economy. It brings about new technologies and products to address global challenges and boost productivity. Because it is such a vital force in the modern world, innovation must be nurtured and systems put in place to ensure that its results are turned into practical solutions to help improve quality of life. To address this growing need, the OECD's innovation strategy will create a comprehensive, coherent understanding of how to promote, measure, and assess innovation and its underling dynamics.

A key part of this strategy is a focus on education and training. The Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI) will contribute to the Strategy by focusing on two main areas:

human capital for innovation
innovation in education and training

With this project, CERI aims to raise awareness of the importance of education and training to create innovation-friendly environments and to engage stakeholders and policymakers in an international discussion on key principles to foster innovation in education.

Human Capital for Innovation

The ambition and creativity of the individual is the spark that fosters innovation. Individuals need to develop these skills through their education and training. There also needs to be space for individuals to express their skills in the workplace and society. Thus it is important to discover which policies will create such an environment, in addition to the traditionally emphasised skills of engineers and scientists. At the same time, while innovation is a positive force, it can also cause upheaval. In many cases, entire industries are changed beyond recognition or cease to exist. For innovation to achieve its full potential, individuals need adapt to these changes by receiving appropriate training throughout their life time. Societies must also develop institutions that can help them address the inequity that can follow some innovations. To address these questions, CERI will work in collaboration with other OECD Directorates and in consultation with national governments to provide policy recommendations on how to create an innovation environment that makes the most of human capital.

Innovation in Education and Training

Understanding how to foster innovation in education is essential for education systems to adjust to social and economic changes, and also to perform better in terms of achievement, equity and efficiency. Although educational spending amounts to an average of 6% of an OECD country’s GDP, innovation in the education sector has not received as much attention as in other sectors such as health. While CERI has undertaken extensive work on a series of educational innovations and on educational R&D, it is only recently that it has started to conduct a comprehensive study on the nature and extent of innovation in education, including on systemic innovation. Work will continue under this activity to engage educational stakeholders in the development of an Innovation Strategy for Education, highlighting key principles to promote achievement-enhancing educational innovations.

Objectives

Provide policy makers with key principles for promoting innovation in education.
Raising awareness of the roles played by education and training in innovation strategies.
Provide a forum for an international discussion on the improvement of education through innovative practices.
Produce reports and publications that inform the public about innovation in education and the roles of education for innovation.