Ireland enjoys the economic effects of innovation
According to the latest EU scoreboard, Ireland is among the top nations which make knowledge and innovation work in the real economy. Still, the Innovation Union Scoreboard sees Ireland rather as an innovation follower than an innovation leader.
Countries are rated by the EU’s Innovation Union Scoreboard on the following criteria: Employment in knowledge-intensive activities, the contribution of medium and hi-tech product exports to the trade balance, exports of knowledge-intensive services, sales due to innovation activities and licenses and patent revenues from selling technologies abroad.
The report figures prove that human resources and economic effects are Ireland`s biggest assets. Its weak points, on the other hand, are finance and support of firm investments. There has been an increase in licence and patent revenues abroad and a drop for non-R&D innovation expenditures. 
The European nations which are considered as innovation leaders are Sweden, Germany, Denmark and Finland.
The countries to be considered as followers are Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium, the UK, Austria, Ireland, France, Slovenia, Cyprus and Estonia.
Moderate innovators included Italy, Spain, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Greece, Slovenia, Hungary, Malta and Lithuania with a performance below the European average.
Modest innovators, who performed far below the EU average, included Poland, Latvia, Romania and Bulgaria.
EU Commissioner Máire Geoghegan-Quinn states that, “Innovation should now be at the heart of all member states’ policy agendas.”
That’t all from 4pm today. Let us know your thoughts? Do you agree, are we an innovation follower? How can we improve and become Innovation leaders?
