Periodic Reporting for period 1 - INNOVA MEASURE V (Development of indicators & econometric analysis on R&I performance)
Reporting period: 2021-11-01 to 2023-04-30
The aim of INNOVA MEASURE V, which is carried out by the Directorate-General Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission, is to support the work of the Directorate-General for Research & Innovation (R&I). It builds on the outcomes and capacities developed within the framework of the INNOVA MEASURE I-IV projects, and focuses on three research streams: i) the development and update of the methodologies concerning composite indicators and dashboards measuring R&I performance of EU Member States (MSs); (ii) the mapping of green and digital inventions in the EU alongside their knowledge source and the analysis of the role of innovative foreign direct investment (FDI) in the knowledge diffusion underlying these innovations; (iii) the assessment of the contribution of advanced digital technologies to the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These themes are structured in three Work Packages, supplemented by a fourth one for the dissemination of results.
The overall objective is to provide new evidence for R&I policies in the EU in line with the current policy agenda of the European Commission. Overall, the project provided robust indicators for policy and improved the understanding of the EU innovative performance in the green and digital domains, as well as of the determinants and consequences of ongoing economic transformations such as the “digital transformation”, which are all issues of key relevance for both the policy and scientific communities, as well as for the society at large.
The overall objective is to provide new evidence for R&I policies in the EU in line with the current policy agenda of the European Commission. Overall, the project provided robust indicators for policy and improved the understanding of the EU innovative performance in the green and digital domains, as well as of the determinants and consequences of ongoing economic transformations such as the “digital transformation”, which are all issues of key relevance for both the policy and scientific communities, as well as for the society at large.
The project lasted 18 months. The first part of the project (months 1-6) has been used to assemble different data sources and build indicators and datasets needed for the analysis of WP2 and WP3. Moreover, the team produced the 2021 update of the Innovation Output Indicator (IOI) [WP1] and provided additional statistical support and data inputs to RTD for the preparation of their Science, Research, and Innovation performance of the EU 2022 report. The central part of the project (months 7-12) focused on data analysis. The team produced the first deliverables: the mapping of the EU green and inventions and their knowledge sources [WP2]; the study of the link between innovative FDI flows and the foreign knowledge sourcing for the development of these technologies [WP2]; the assessment of the strength and specialization of EU MSs in the production of scientific knowledge jointly related to both digital technologies and sustainable development [WP3]; and the study of the contributions of advanced digital technologies to sustainable development [WP3]. Furthermore, the team worked on the revision of the IOI to improve its statistical properties and align it with the new EU policy priorities. The revision process also included a number of virtual workshops attended by staff within the Commission and experts from other international organisations and academia (June 2022 and October 2022). The final part of the project (months 13-18) focused on drafting the technical reports. We produced: 1) the analysis of the innovation performance of MSs based on the 2023 updates of the IOI and complemented by a study of EU radical innovators and exporters and startups and scaleups [WP1]; 2) methodological guidance for DG R&I in the development of the three dashboards on Planet, Prosperity and People, as defined by grouping together relevant SDGs [WP1]; 3) the mapping of green and digital inventions in the EU alongside their knowledge sources [WP2]; 4) the study of the role of innovative FDI in the knowledge acquisition behind the development of green and digital technologies in the EU [WP2]; 5) the mapping of the scientific base for SDGs and Digital Technologies [WP3]; and 6) a natural language processing (NLP)-based analysis of the impact of digital technologies on sustainable development in scientific literature [WP3]. Communication and dissemination activities [WP4] were performed throughout the implementation of the project. The team supported DG RTD in the preparation of a policy workshop on the development of the 3P dashboards and organized two workshops to present and discuss results from WP2 and WP3 with policy makers and academics. The first workshop (October 2022) aimed at receiving feedback on ongoing research, the second and final one (April 2023) to discuss results and policy implications. The team also participated in academic conferences to present and discuss the research performed in the project.
Research carried out in the project fed into a flagship publication of the European Commission (Science, research and innovation performance of the EU 2022 report) and the Commission Staff Working Document accompanying the Communication ‘A new European Innovation Agenda’ (COM(2022) 332 final). Moreover, some results have already featured in a reputed volume of The Academy of International Business book series (AIB) (Inequality, Geography and Global Value Chains). Furthermore, the full policy and academic impact of policy support and research work conducted during the project is likely to take place throughout and beyond next year. The potential of the research carried in the project can feed the ongoing policy discourse and academic debate on the consequences of the fourth digital revolution on issues of social and environmental sustainability, as well as the drivers and impacts of the green and digital transitions in the EU. Findings from the project also set the base for further and more in depth research in these areas.