Implications Of National Innovation Systems For Developing Countries: Managing Change And Complexity In Economic Development

This paper develops implications of National Innovation Systems (NIS) from the perspective of developing countries. A review of the development of NIS in the OECD context reveals that the notion of national innovation systems is a synthesis made at the national and other societal levels, of the insights about technological innovation and institutional change. Its strong policy orientation came from the need to manage change and complexity for economic growth and development. It should be adapted as one of the most relevant policy instruments for knowledge based development in developing countries. The paper identifies gaps which may impede possible applications of the innovative policy approach of NIS, mainly in the preparation of people for change, and in the development of a knowledge basis for the learning intensive policy approach of NIS. The paper also illustrates how to make efforts to narrow the gaps.