2015

Nieminen, Mika; Lehtoranta, Olavi

The book contributes to the discussion of monitoring and measuring broadbased innovation. The major questions are: are available indicators working properly, and can we find new perspectives on or indicators for innovation processes? The study discusses and investigates many aspects of measurement, logic of measurement, challenges encountered in measurement, possible solutions, and complementary measurement frameworks. While the study provides critical perspectives on extending innovation measurement and is sceptical whether current statistics serve in best possible way policy-making, it suggests also new, improved measurements and indicators. For instance, public-sector innovation and other organisations and service innovations should be more widely included in innovation surveys. Also the measurement of user and consumer innovation should be further developed. We should also find new methodologies to better catch the networked and systemic character of innovation like ones that utilize internet-based sources and 'big data'. Some of the conclusions of the study are that innovation statistics should make a clearer distinction between an invention, the innovation process and the diffusion process, the different character of innovations should be better taken into account, and the factors promoting and hampering innovations should be included more clearly in the measurements than at present.