INSEAD: Global Innovation Index 2011

INSEAD, the leading international business school, recently announced the findings of The Global Innovation Index (GII) 2011 edition. Switzerland topped this year’s GII ranking, gaining three spots from its position in last year’s GII. Sweden and Singapore follow in the 2nd and 3rd positions, respectively. Joining INSEAD as Knowledge Partners for the report were Alcatel-Lucent, Booz & Company, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), a specialized agency of the United Nations. This year’s rankings show that innovation has become a global phenomenon with six European economies (including Finland 5th, Denmark 6th, the Netherlands 9th and the United Kingdom 10th), two Asian (including Hong Kong, SAR, China 4th) and two North American economies (the United States 7th and Canada 8th) in the top 10. ‘Innovation is critical to driving growth in both developed and emerging economies, especially during a time when the global economy is still in a state of recovery,’ said Soumitra Dutta, Roland Berger Professor of Business and Technology at INSEAD and editor of the study. ‘The GII has evolved into a valuable benchmarking tool to encourage private-public dialogue including policy-makers, business leaders and other stakeholders.’ WIPO Director General Francis Gurry stressed that ‘Innovation is central to economic growth and to the creation of new and better jobs. It is the key to competitiveness for economies, for industries and for individual firms.’ He added that ‘innovation and its many benefits do not come without the investment of time, effort and human and financial resources,’ noting that this report captures efforts by a large number of economies to provide an enabling environment that promotes innovation. The five Nordic economies—Sweden (2nd), Finland (5th), Denmark (6th), Iceland (11th), and Norway (18th)—have very strong performances globally as well as regionally. Within the European Union (EU), the Netherlands and the UK are in the top 10, followed by Germany (12th), Ireland (13th), Luxembourg (17th), and Austria (19th) in the top 20. Here to read more.