This short policy brief outlines three distinct innovation policy frames that have shaped how governments and institutions support innovation over time:
- Frame 1 (dominant from the 1960s to 1980s) focuses on R&D and regulation, assuming innovation follows a linear path from research to economic growth.
- Frame 2 (from the 1990s to today) shifts to national innovation systems and entrepreneurship, stressing interactions among government, industry, universities, and markets.
- Frame 3 is an emerging transformative change frame that goes beyond economic goals to address societal and environmental challenges, emphasising broad actor engagement, experimentation, and systemic change rather than just technology and markets.
Acknowledgements
To download or cite the full 2018 article, published in the journal Research Policy, visit Three frames for innovation policy: R&D, systems of innovation and transformative change
Citation
Schot, J., Steinmueller, E., Kanger, L. and Alasoini, T. (2018) Policy brief: The Three Frames of Innovation. TIP Resource Lab. Available at: https://tipresourcelab.net/resource/policy-brief-the-three-frames-of-innovation/
