The search for excellence and the democratisation of innovation

The chapter focuses on the role of innovation as a driver of growth and its contributions to inclusive growth. It discusses industrial and territorial inclusiveness, i.e. the proximity of innovation capacities across firms, sectors, regions, universities and public research institutes within countries. It goes on to describe how information and communication technology may support another trend – the “democratisation of innovation” – by increasing smaller firms’ chances of succeeding with their innovations. It also discusses how new opportunities for “trickle-down” dynamics can improve industrial and territorial inclusiveness. It shows how policies may inadvertently lead to less industrial inclusiveness. It concludes by raising questions for future research.