Technology, Government, Business, and Universities: The Innovation Ecosystem

Abstract

The purpose of this presentation is to present an overview of the roles of the government, business enterprises, and universities in the promotion and creation of innovation. Our approach is to present key concepts, principles, methods, tools and use illustrative examples from research and executive practice. We begin by defining “innovation”. We argue that innovation is both a process and an output. From a process perspective, innovation is an emergent property of a complex social-technical system composed of government, business enterprises, and universities. The behavior of this system is the result of policies engineered by the government. We illustrate this point with examples of various macro economies, e.g. Chile. Using these examples we illustrate effective government policies. Next we discuss innovation as an output from business enterprises. We focus on enterprise level methods and tools for innovation. They are: business model transformation, business process reengineering, inventive problem solving, analysis of customer requirements, technology roadmapping, and knowledge management. Consistent with our practice, we illustrate the use of these methods and tools in detail. Next, we touch on the role of universities. For universities to promote innovation, we identify six research paths, three research strategies, and two goals. We cite a few examples from MIT. We present a key role of universities: to create interpretation spaces for researchers, government, and business where new innovative knowledge and ideas can be explored and generated in an environment of strong mutual trust. Innovation is impossible without decisive executives who are committed to action. Therefore, we present a detailed discussion of a new prescriptive approach that take a fresh look at decision-making for executives and policy makers. Finally, we distill from all of the above a set of principles that help unlock innovation. Finally we distill from all of the above a set of principles that help to unlock innovation.