| Notes |
We are pleased to present the 13th edition of the Global Innovation
Index (GII) while commemorating a decade long partnership
between the Cornell University, INSEAD, and the World Intellectual
Property Organization (WIPO).
For more than 10 years, the GII has fostered innovation debates
and policies. Again, the GII 2020 report presents global innovation
trends and the innovation performance of 131 economies.
As this report goes to press, the world is struggling to cope with
the economic and social implications of the coronavirus disease
(COVID-19) crisis. Now more than ever, innovation—primarily in
finding treatments and a vaccine—is humanity’s best hope to
overcome the economic lockdown. Echoing our call to support
medical innovation in the GII 2019 report, this pandemic is a potent
reminder that health-related research and development (R&D) and
health system innovations are not a luxury, but a necessity.
The amplitude of the crisis created by COVID-19 has engulfed
many countries in a wave of emergencies. In the years to come,
financial resources will be strained. Risk aversion will be high. As a
result, countries and corporations alike will find it harder to pursue
investments and innovation.
It may be tempting to defer the pursuit of longer-term goals. Yet, as
in the financial crisis of 2008–2009, we are calling on business and
policy leaders around the world to continue to innovate beyond
healthcare, despite the economic downturn.
With growing attention on innovation as the way to build a
sustainable and inclusive future, now is a particularly relevant time
for this year’s special theme: Who Will Finance Innovation?
As long as innovation has existed, a central challenge facing
innovators worldwide is the mobilization of stable and accessible
financing mechanisms. Financing affects all stages of an innovation
cycle, from ideation to commercialization, expansion, and,
eventually, long-term business sustainability.
Even before the crisis, a range of new actors, such as sovereign
wealth funds, and not-for-profit organizations, has been supporting
innovation. Innovative mechanisms, such as corporate venturing,
intellectual property (IP) marketplaces, crowdfunding, and fintech
solutions, were present before the crisis and will not vanish. At
the same time, public support schemes remain essential vehicles
of innovation financing.
To conclude, every crisis brings opportunities and room for
creative disruption. One side effect of the current crisis has been
to stimulate interest in innovative solutions for health, naturally,
but also for areas such as remote work, distance education,
e-commerce, and mobility solutions. Unleashing these positive
forces may well support societal goals, including reducing or
reversing long-term climate change.
For this GII edition, we thank our Knowledge Partners; the
Confederation of Indian Industry (CII); Dassault Systèmes, The
3DEXPERIENCE Company; and the National Confederation
of Industry Brazil (CNI) for their support. We also thank the
Competence Centre on Composite Indicators and Scoreboards of
the Joint Research Centre at the European Commission.
Likewise, we recognize the contributions of our Advisory Board
members, who have been joined by two members this year:
Ms. C. Akamanzi, CEO of the Rwanda Development Board
(Rwanda) and Mr. H. Takenaka, Director, Center for Global
Innovation Studies, Toyo University and former Minister (Japan).
We—Soumitra Dutta and Bruno Lanvin—shall, in a break from
tradition, have the last word in this preface, so that we may
underline and pay tribute to the vital role played by Francis Gurry in
the remarkable success of the GII over the last 10 years. Thanks to
his vision and leadership, WIPO has become the central pillar of the
GII. Thank you, Francis, and as you complete your second six-year
mandate at the helm of WIPO, we wish you the best of luck in your
future endeavors!
PREFACE
RELEASING THE GLOBAL INNOVATION INDEX
2020: WHO WILL FINANCE INNOVATION?
Soumitra Dutta
Professor of Management and Former
Founding Dean, SC Johnson College
of Business, Cornell University;
President, Portulans Institute
Francis Gurry
Director General,
World Intellectual Property
Organization (WIPO)
Bruno Lanvin
Executive Director for Global Indices,
INSEAD;
Director, Portulans Institute |