Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. Measuring innovation output in Europe: towards a new indicator

This Communication presents an indicator to measure performance in innovation output. The rigorous measurement of the impact of innovation policies is key for evidence-based policy-making. Moreover, it bolsters the legitimacy of public action and the use of public funds.

Europe is today a knowledge centre of global importance. However, despite its world-class science base and technology leadership in strategic sectors, efforts are needed to improve innovation performance at the EU and national level with better framework conditions, notably for fast-growing firms in innovative sectors.

The proposed indicator will support policy-makers in establishing new or reinforced actions to remove bottlenecks that prevent innovators from translating ideas into products and services that can be successful on the market. Improved performance will contribute to smart growth, in line with Europe 2020 and its Innovation Union flagship initiative.

The proposed indicator complements the Innovation Union Scoreboard (IUS), and its Summary Innovation Index (SII), which assess how the various strengths and weaknesses of Member States and the EU determine their overall performance, against a broad set of 24 innovation indicators, including inputs, throughputs and outputs. In addition, the Innovation Union Competitiveness Report, also analyses innovation performance every two years.

The indicator in this Communication zooms in exclusively on innovation output and monitors a reduced set of dimensions, including the contribution to job creation of fast-growing firms. Given its complementarity with the IUS, it is planned that the results of the proposed indicator are published simultaneously with those of the IUS.

This Communication introduces the indicator, the criteria and data for its development, and the robustness analysis carried out. It is accompanied by a Staff Working Document.

EUR-Lex: COM(2013)624: Follow the progress of this communication through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2013:624:FIN

EUR-Lex: SWD(2013)325: Developing an indicator of innovation output http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=SWD:2013:325:FIN

ESO: Background information: Commission launches new innovation indicator http://www.europeansources.info/record/press-release-commission-launches-new-innovation-indicator/

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