When it comes to innovation, big countries loom large in the popular imagination. But smaller countries can innovate too. This report looks at implications for Scotland.
When it comes to innovation, big countries loom large in the popular imagination. But smaller countries can innovate too. This report looks at implications for Scotland.
Key Findings
We looked at how innovation happens in five countries with populations of less than ten million, focusing on Finland, Estonia, Israel, Singapore and the Basque Country. Five themes for smaller countries emerge from looking at these case studies:
- The importance of downstream innovation, not just basic research
- Openness to the world, its ideas and opportunities
- A government whose wider policies support innovation and technology
- Strong but flexible institutions
- A sense of national mission
For Scotland, the report outlines some challenges in pursuing innovation-led growth, which would apply to either a yes or no response in the referendum on independence:
- How to balance a cohesive national vision for innovation with an economy open to the world
- How to do downstream innovation well in a country with a reputation for great upstream research
- How to embrace public and social innovation
- How to create adaptive, effective innovation institutions
Authors
Jen Rae and Stian Westlake
