Inclusive innovation and how it can be measured in developed and developing countries

Inclusive innovation measurement often focuses on human resource indicators related to equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), or social cohesion indicators of inequalities. From this perspective, inclusive innovation is an organizational human resources strategy with employment targets that address barriers and increase participation of underrepresented groups. However, meaningful inclusive innovation comprises diverse employees and community stakeholders. Inclusive innovation involves organizations’ ideation and knowledge discovery, product and process development, technology adoption and deployment, governance, and social participation activities with a broad spectrum of communities, users, and stakeholders that the organizations touch, including those who may be displaced by the innovation outcomes. Inclusive innovation measurement, thus, comprises all aspects of the innovation process, barriers and the conscious and unconscious biases and exclusionary activities of organizations and people. This chapter proposes that inclusive innovation indicators are situational and differ within developed or developing countries. It provides an inclusive innovation conceptual framework and recommends measurement methods.