Forward look

The final section of this EIS 2008 report will briefly highlight some of the work foreseen for the EIS 2009. Following the recommendations for continuity from the Methodology Report, the same methodology and set of innovation dimensions and indicators is planned for the EIS 2009. This will enable direct comparisons with the EIS 2008 results.

A number of thematic papers will be prepared. A first of these will study the long term mechanisms that are at the root of innovation performance analysing data from three waves of the Community Innovation Survey and will analyse the relevance and nature of innovation activities, outcomes and performance at the sectoral level over the long term period.

Following an increasing request for an update of the 2006 Regional Innovation Scoreboard (RIS), a thematic paper will be prepared applying the EIS methodology at the regional level. The RIS 2009 will use as many indicators as possible from the EIS 2008, including the indicators using data from the Community Innovation Survey (CIS). However, not all EU27 Member States are able to deliver regional data from their CIS, so it is expected that not all EU27 regions will be included in the RIS 2009. The RIS 2009 will benchmark regions’ innovation performance, their change in innovation performance and will also identify relative strengths and weaknesses in regions’ innovation performance.

Finally, a new Innobarometer (IB) survey is foreseen. The IB 2009 will explore how companies’ innovation activities have changed and if companies have changed their innovation strategies in various areas. The IB 2009 will also survey future trends in strategy, innovation activities and investments an input into EIS thematic papers.