New Zealand has been ranked as the 17th most innovative nation in the world in this year’s Global Innovation Index of 142 economies. We were ranked as third in the SEAO (South East Asia Oceania) region, behind only Hong Kong and Singapore and ahead of Korea, Australia (at number 19), Japan and China. Switzerland ranked as number one while Sweden and the United Kingdom ranked as numbers two and three.
New Zealand’s highest ranking was achieved in the area of political, regulatory and business environments where we were given 95%. Market sophistication was given 70.7%. So, we’ve got a great infrastructure to support innovation along with healthy conditions for lending, investment, trade and competition. However, the report also identified weaknesses in other areas, including low levels of research and development financed by local businesses and foreign sources, and a low score in high-tech manufacturing.
We also have low rankings in exports of communications, computer and information services exports (4.7% or number 83 globally) and the numbers of graduates in science and engineering (a score of 18.9%). A low number of graduates must surely be linked to a relatively poor output of technology exports. This brings us back to that old chestnut, time and time again: New Zealand needs to encourage young people to continue science and maths at school and to study them at a higher education level.
The Global Innovation Index is jointly published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Cornell University, and the graduate business school INSEAD. Some of the forewords to the report are truly inspirational reading. Osman Sultan, CEO of du (Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company) wrote that in this, the communication era, connectivity is becoming a basic human right:
“Connectivity lays the groundwork for empowerment and the framework for innovation. Innovation itself is more than just a process. It is a belief, a philosophy that embeds itself in the fundamental elements of governance, sustainability, efficiency and the competitive agility needed to deliver value.”
Given our geographic isolation, connectivity throws the door wide open for New Zealand companies wishing to compete on the global stage. The advent and fast growth of connectivity has been a key enabler for ClearPoint in taking our software development and technical expertise to the world. We help our customers to improve the way they use their connectivity which in turn helps them become more competitive.
Notes
The Global Innovation Index (GII) is jointly published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Cornell University, and the graduate business school INSEAD. The rankings are based upon 84 indicators including political stability, government effectiveness, tertiary enrolment, patent and trade mark filings, and ease of starting a business.
The GII score is the average of the Innovation Input and Output sub-indices.
The Innovation Input Sub-Index is comprised of scores in:
- Institutions
- Human capital and research
- Infrastructure
- Market sophistication
- Business sophistication
The Innovation Output Sub-Index is comprised of:
- Knowledge and technology outputs
- Creative outputs
