We reviewed the Global Innovation Index (GII) with interest today. It has been released by the World Intellectual Property Organisation, INSEAD and Cornell University and is the 12th global index of innovation to date.
For more than a decade, the GII has fostered national innovation strategies and international debates on innovation. The GI places innovation on the map, it allows countries to assess the relative performance of their innovation system and it provides an impetus for countries to collect fitting innovation metrics.
Ireland ranks 12th on the global index, and 8th in Europe. While this shows that relatively we are still punching above our weight on a global scale, it is the first time since 2015 that we have not been in the global top 10. We do still rank as performing above expectation for our level of development and we are in the top 10 for innovation outputs globally.
Ireland remains the top economy worldwide in Knowledge diffusion.
The most important improvements in this pillar are in PCT patent applications (22nd, up by 4), and High- and medium-high-tech manufactures (2nd, up by 1). Conversely, weaker performance is observed in patents by origin (39th, down by 3), In this pillar, Ireland remains 1st in the world in ICT services exports and FDI net outflows, and 2nd in Computer Software Spending.
So, while Ireland has slipped from the top 10, it is mainly due to stronger performance in other economies, and we still have many strengths to play on and our knowledge economy continues to be vital to our economic well-being.