Frameworks for Measuring Innovation

Working Paper #06

Frameworks for Measuring Innovation:
Initial Approaches

Susan Rose Stephanie Shipp Bhavya Lal Alexandra Stone Science and Technology Policy Institute

March 2009

Athena Alliance 911 East Capitol St., SE Washington, DC 20003 www.athenaalliance.org | [e-mail]

Frameworks for Measuring Innovation: Initial Approaches

About Athena Alliance Athena Alliance is in the vanguard of identifying, understanding, analyzing, and educating on the information, intangibles, and innovation (I3 or I-Cubed) economy. Information, knowledge, and other intangibles now power economic prosperity and wealth creation. Intangible assets—worker skills and know-how, informal relationships that feed creativity and new ideas, high-performance work organizations, formal intellectual property, and brand names—are the new keys to competitive advantage. Intangibles and information drive innovation through a combination of formal research and informal creativity. These elements come together to power the productivity gains and process improvements that enhance prosperity in the 21st century. While the economic rules have changed, public policy has not caught up. Governments are struggling with ways to utilize information, foster development of intangibles, and promote innovation and competitiveness in this new economy. Policymakers are grappling with the urgent need to frame policy questions in light of the changing economic situation. Issues of developing and utilizing information, managing intangibles, and fostering innovation underlie discussions on a variety of subjects, such as intellectual property rights, education and training policy, economic development, technology policy, and trade policy. Crafting new policies in these areas requires infusing a better understanding of intangibles and the information economy into the public debate. As a nonprofit public policy research organization, Athena Alliance seeks to close the gap between the changed

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