Innobarometer

The Innobarometer is made available within the Eurobarometer series of publications and provides an evaluation of public support measures and programmes for innovation from the business perspective. 

The following Innobarometer reports are currently available (click on the title for details):

• Innobarometer 2009: Analytical report  and Innobarometer 2009: Summary   

• Innobarometer 2007: Analytical report on Innovation Transfer
  

  The Innobarometer 2007 report is primarily exploring the ways in which enterprises innovate, the role of non-R&D based innovation, and the extent to which innovation is outsourced or transferred from other businesses or organisations.

  The main findings of the Innobarometer 2007 can be summarized as following:

  Innovation is the norm: In a large number of EU countries (as well as in Norway and Switzerland), in the selected innovation-intensive industries, the norm is to be involved in innovation, with about nine out of 10 enterprises (in a range from 86% to 94%) reporting that they have undertaken one or more, of the defined in the report, innovative activities.

  R&D is not the only source of innovation: Enterprises engage in significant amounts of innovative activities that do not involve either in-house or contracted-out R&D. On average, managers classified only one-fifth of all innovation-related expenditure as R&D (20%). In three countries, this proportion is significantly higher. Almost every second euro that was spent on innovation was R&D-related in Finland (48%), Hungary (46%) and Sweden (44%).

  Innovation leads to greater turnover: Regarding changes in turnover between 2004 and 2006, it appears that innovative enterprises are more successful (or more successful companies innovate), although those not innovating were much more reluctant to share this information with the Innobarometer survey. Still, the raw figures do indicate that innovating companies are more likely to have a turnover that’s been increasing in recent years.

  Size is important: Innovation is more characteristic of larger enterprises, which partly explains most of the differences we observed between those who innovate and those who do not. The average staff size of innovating companies (among enterprises employing a staff of at least 20) is almost three times as large (217) as the number of persons employed by firms that are not being innovative (66).

  Large companies invest in R&D: First and foremost, large enterprises (with 250+ persons employed) invest in R&D (60%); medium-sized (44%) and small enterprises (36%) are significantly less likely to spend on R&D.

  Product-related innovation gets priority: Forty-seven percent of companies confirmed that product-related innovation (concerning produced goods) is the type that’s the most widespread across the EU, with service-related actions being somewhat less frequently reported as having been improved or newly introduced during the past two years (40%).

   Download the Innobarometer 2007

• Innobarometer 2006: Analytical report on the role of clusters in facilitating innovation in Europe
  

  The Innobarometer 2006 report gives descriptive information on the concept, membership and impact of clusters.

  The survey finds that top-level company managers are generally aware of the relatively new concept of company clusters, especially in the old Member States. On average, every fourth company with at least 20 employees in the European Union work in a cluster-like environment characterised by close cooperation with other local businesses and strong ties to local business infrastructure. However, the average figure is much lower in the new Member States.

  At the same time, 17% of surveyed companies participating in a cluster indicated that the prospect of joining a cluster was a prime reason for choosing their location.

  The proportion of companies in a cluster-like environment is highest in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Latvia, while the highest level and intensity of networking was found in the Nordic region.

  The most widespread benefits of being part of a cluster are related to human resources, a stimulation of the entrepreneurial spirit and the development of partnerships. In addition, three-quarters of the strategic leaders in cluster companies across the EU agree that stronger competition in their cluster leads to better competitiveness and seven out of ten confirm that stronger competition is an immanent part of the success of their clusters.

  Companies active in cluster environment are more innovative than the most innovative European companies interviewed by the 2004 Innobarometer.

  There is a widespread perception (over two thirds of cluster company managers) that public authorities have at least important if not fundamental roles in supporting the cluster.

   Download the Innobarometer 2006

• Population Innovation Readiness Report (2005)
  

  The Population Innovation Readiness Report assesses how Europeans define innovative products or services as well as the extent to which citizens are attracted to these. The analysis uses this information to assess overall the perceptions of innovation.

  The report finds that Malta and Slovakia are the Member States with the highest proportion of pro-innovation citizens. However, a relatively large proportion of countries follow very closely behind.

  On the other side of the coin, citizens in Poland and Latvia are found to be least ready to embrace innovation as over three in five are classified as “anti-innovation” or “reluctant”. However, the highest proportions of “anti-innovation” citizens are in Greece (22%), Cyprus (21%) and Portugal (20%). A similarly high proportion of Bulgarians (20%) falls under this category.

  Nonetheless, on average a majority of EU citizens associates innovation more with the creation of new products or services (52%) over the improvement of existing ones (39%). Similarly, a comfortable majority of 57% of EU citizens declares that they feel attracted towards innovative products or services.

   Download the Population Innovation Readiness Report

• Innobarometer 2004
  

  The Innobarometer 2004 aims at characterising public support measures/programmes to innovation from the business perspective. 4,500 European managers (firms with 20-500 employees) were interviewed in September-October 2004. The survey includes the 25 Member States and covers innovative firms only. The Innobarometer 2004 is presented together with a special report of the European Innovation Scoreboard to link with the Innovation performance of Member States and Associated Countries.

  31% of EU innovative firms use at least one form of public support for their innovation activities. However, only 12% use public support to innovation for which they are eligible, which proves that further improvement can be achieved with regard to the coverage of public initiatives. Cypriot and Austrian firms are the most active. Firms in the new Member States use relatively less public support to assist their innovation.

  However, several public support programmes are highly rated by EU firms. Public support to develop "Collaboration" and "Training for Innovation" rank first, programmes to support "Adoption of process technology" and "R&D" follow.

  No general correlation can be made between public support to innovation and innovation performance as measured by the European Innovation Scoreboard, with the notable exception of networking activities. Empirical evidence suggests that good innovation performance is strongly dependent on strong networking among companies. Surprisingly, public support to networking is however not ranked among the best programmes used by EU firms.

  According to EU firms, Germany is thought to have both the most burdensome regulation and the most effective support programmes for innovation.

   Download the Innobarometer 2004
   Download the Analysis of the Innobarometer 2004 Survey

• Innobarometer 2003

As in the previous years, the Innobarometer 2003 analyses the experiences and priorities of European managers with regard to innovation. It finds that the proportions of enterprises in the European Union engaging in innovative activity increased from 2002 to 2003. According to the study, the most compelling factor encouraging companies to innovate are consumers. They are regarded as the key to innovation, whose needs and accessibility are the motors of innovation. It also shows that managers see globalisation as an opportunity to innovate and tend to be optimistic about the benefits of innovative efforts. At the same time, they look favourably on the European dimension of innovation issues, such as the Community Patent.

 Download the full report in English
 Short versions are available in German (DE) and French (FR)

• Innobarometer 2002

As in 2001, the Innobarometer 2002 analyses the experiences and priorities of European managers with regard to innovation. The study concludes that European enterprises slowly, but continuously strengthened their innovative activities between 2001 and 2002. A qualified workforce with the necessary knowledge and competencies for a strong innovation performance are regarded as essential in this context, as is access to innovative markets. Another trend observed in the period under investigation is that enterprises increasingly took part in the public debate on innovation. The importance of cooperation between enterprises is also highlighted.

 Download the Innobarometer 2002 (EN)
 Download the Innobarometer 2002 (DE)
Download the  Innobarometer 2002 (FR)

• Innobarometer 2001

The Innobarometer 2001 analyses the experiences and priorities of European managers with regard to innovation. The study concludes that according to European managers, innovation is widespread, but developing slowly. Nevertheless, the importance of innovation is appreciated by most businesses. Adequate human resources, active contacts with customers and suppliers as well as knowledge-sharing with other innovative companies are considered as important elements of the innovative process. However, the fiscal incentives for innovation are regarded as insufficient in most EU countries. On the other hand, the vast majority of executives claim that customers have a favourable attitude to innovation. German customers are considered as particularly open to innovative products.

 Download the Innobarometer 2001 (EN)
 Download the Innobarometer 2001 (DE)
 Download the Innobarometer 2001 (FR)