Reports

Following a remarkable transformation in the past century in research and innovation, in particular through the development of new technologies and processes in sectors such as oil and gas, shipbuilding and also fisheries and aquaculture, Norway is today increasingly facing a 'triple transition imperative' in which it needs, first, to shift toward a more diversified and robust economy; second, to move to a more competitive, effective and efficient innovation system; and third, to support research and innovation activities that can confront an array of societal challenges (climate change, food security, aging, health and so on). The Long-Term Plan for Research and Higher Education 2015-2024 (LTP) launched by the Norwegian government has set the base to enhance the capacity of the research and higher education system to cope with these transition challenges. This report proposes recommendations to take advantage of the revision of this comprehensive strategic plan in 2018 to improve the horizontal coordination and add more concrete structural policy initiatives, without changing the plan’s general orientation nor giving up the sectorial and the consensus principles that form the basis of Norwegian policy making.

Although Finland achieved a widely acclaimed transformation to become a leading knowledge-based economy in the late 20th century, the 2009 recession and disruptive change contributing to a deep restructuring of the information and communication technology (ICT) industry and the downsizing of traditional sectors have weighed on the economy, productivity growth and international competitiveness. Numerous policy reforms have since been undertaken, and public and private investment, especially in applied R&D, has been cut back. Strengthening and lifting Finland’s innovation system out of a period of uncertainty requires a coherent and unified new vision for science, technology and innovation (STI), renewed investment and policy instruments. This vision should be oriented towards renewal tackling societal challenges and developing new knowledge-based competitive advantages at global scale. Success calls for better co-ordination and co-operation among policy actors and national and regional-levels, and further internationalisation.

Demographic pressure and the youth bulge in the developing world pose a major employment challenge. This situation is exacerbated by insufficient job creation, scarce formal wage employment opportunities and vulnerability in the workplace. For these reasons, fostering youth entrepreneurship has gained importance in the global and national development policy agenda. This report aims to contribute to the ongoing debate on the role of youth entrepreneurship in generating employment in developing countries. It is based on the analysis of mixed labour force and enterprise surveys conducted in Côte d’Ivoire, Madagascar, Peru and Viet Nam, as well as evidence on the impact of entrepreneurship programmes. This report’s findings add to the global debate on youth entrepreneurship in three important ways. First, it constitutes an unprecedented effort to capture the real situations and multiple faces of young entrepreneurs in selected developing countries. Second, it provides new empirical evidence on the determinants of youth entrepreneurial performance. Third, it proposes a policy roadmap based on lessons learned from recent meta-analyses of the effectiveness of entrepreneurship programmes.

Public procurement offers an enormous potential market for innovative products and services. Used strategically, it can help governments boost innovation at both the national and local level and ultimately improve productivity and inclusiveness. Based on good practices in OECD and partner countries, this report analyses the state of play of procurement for innovation and provides a flexible framework focusing on 9 areas to promote it.

This publication examines the opportunities and challenges, for business and government, associated with technologies bringing about the 'next production revolution'. These include a variety of digital technologies (e.g. the Internet of Things and advanced robotics), industrial biotechnology, 3D printing, new materials and nanotechnology. Some of these technologies are already used in production, while others will be available in the near future. All are developing rapidly. As these technologies transform the production and the distribution of goods and services, they will have far-reaching consequences for productivity, skills, income distribution, well-being and the environment. The more that governments and firms understand how production could develop in the near future, the better placed they will be to address the risks and reap the benefits.

Recent years have seen a remarkable backlash against globalisation. The costs of increased openness and connectivity – including the consequences of trade and investment liberalisation – are weighted as never before against the benefits, with many voices advocating a slowdown or even a reversal of the global integration that has characterised the past three decades. While there are many economic, social and political reasons for this backlash, there is sufficient evidence showing that globalisation is leaving many people behind, particularly in the lower half of the income distribution, and especially in advanced countries. This backlash suggests that we need to act quickly to fix globalisation and make sure that its benefits are more equally shared. The consequences of a potential reversal of global integration could be dramatic: increased protectionism resulting in a net loss of wealth and opportunities and dangerous inward-looking policies that would put at risk many of the benefits achieved in the past decades.

Public sector innovation does not happen by itself: problems need to be identified, and ideas translated into projects that can be tested, implemented and shared. To do so, public sector organisations must identify the processes and structures that can support and accelerate innovation. This report looks at how governments can create an environment that fosters innovation. It discusses the role of government management in inhibiting or enabling innovation, and the role that specific functions such as human resources management and budgeting can play. It suggests ways to support innovation – including by managing information, data and knowledge – as well as strategies for managing risk. Drawing on country approaches compiled and analysed by the OECD Observatory of Public Sector Innovation, the report presents a framework for collecting and examining data on the ability of central government to foster public sector innovation.

The Government of Chile has set out a vision to develop a more inclusive society, and sees public sector innovation as a means to achieve it. But in order to achieve these ambitious goals, the Government will need to improve the innovation-related skills and capabilities of the Chilean public service. This report, the first of its kind on an OECD country, assesses the abilities, motivations and opportunities in Chile’s public service for contributing to innovation, and provides recommendations on how to further develop them.

Costa Rica’s successful economic performance and social achievements realised over the last three decades are widely acknowledged. GDP per capita has steadily increased at higher rates than in most Latin American countries as the economy has evolved along its development path from a rural and agriculture-based to a more diversified economy integrated in global value chains. But Costa Rica faces challenges and must enhance and broaden the basis for productivity growth by strengthening its innovation system and enhancing the role of science, technology and innovation in addressing its national development goals.