OSLO MANUAL: GUIDELINES FOR COLLECTING AND INTERPRETING INNOVATION DATA
Foreword
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t has been long understood that the generation, exploitation and diffusion of knowledge are fundamental to economic growth, development and the well being of nations. Central to this is the need for better measures of innovation. Over time the nature and landscape of innovation have changed, and so has the need for indicators to capture those changes and provide policy makers with appropriate tools of analysis. A considerable body of work was undertaken during the 1980s and 1990s to develop models and analytical frameworks for the study of innovation. Experimentation with early surveys and their results, along with the need for a coherent set of concepts and tools led to the first edition of the Oslo Manual in 1992, which focused on technological product and process (TPP) innovation in manufacturing. This became the reference for various large scale surveys examining the nature and impacts of innovation in the business sector, such as the European Community Innovation Survey (CIS), currently in its fourth round. Results from such surveys have driven further refinements in the Oslo Manual framework in terms of concepts, definitions and methodology leading to a second edition published in 1997 which, among other things, expanded coverage to service sectors. Since then, the analysis of results from surveys and changing policy needs led to the launching of another revision of the manual, the result of which can be found in this third edition. As there has been a growing sense that much of innovation in service sectors is not adequately captured by the TPP concept, it was decided to address the question of non technological innovation in this revision. As a result, the scope of what is considered an innovation has now been expanded to include two new types: marketing and organisational innovation. These are certainly new concepts, but they have already been tested in several OECD countries, with promising results. New to this edition is also an effort to address the systemic dimension of innovation, through a chapter focusing on innovation linkages. Lessons drawn from results of previous surveys have also been incorporated in order to refine existing concepts and methodological issues, such as the measurement of innovation inputs and outcomes, as well as the improvement of data collection methods. Innovation also occurs outside the OECD region: a growing number of countries in Latin America, Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa have begun undertaking surveys based on the Oslo Manual. Although the design of those surveys was usually intended to comply with such standards, many of them have adapted the Oslo methodology to take into account specific user needs and the characteristics of statistical systems in these countries with different economic and social backgrounds. National adaptations
ISBN 92-64-01308-3 – Š OECD/EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 2005
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