Singapore keeps Asia-Pac's top spot on Global Innovation Index; still eighth globally

SINGAPORE ranked top in Asia-Pacific again for the seventh consecutive year, in the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2020. The city-state has also maintained its eighth position in global rankings.

The GII, co-published by Cornell University, Insead and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), surveys 131 economies around the world, using 80 indicators to gauge both innovative activities and measurable results.

Like Singapore, top performers in the GII are still almost exclusively from high income, developed economies. The only middle-income country in the top 30 is China, which ranked 14th.

Meanwhile, Switzerland - which ranked first globally since 2011 - topped the global GII ranking again this year, followed by Sweden, the US, the Netherlands and the UK.

Globally, Singapore topped the list for innovation inputs - as measured by indicators such as the quality of human capital and research, political stability as well as market sophistication.

However, it fell behind to 15th place for innovation outputs, which take into consideration the quantity of patents and intellectual property receipts produced, as well as creative outputs such as trademarks, national feature films and online content creation.

A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU

Monday, 3.30 pm

Garage

The hottest news on all things startup and tech to kickstart your week.

Sign Up

However, Bruno Lanvin, the executive director for global indices at Insead and co-author of the GII, told The Business Times that this discrepancy in efforts versus results could also be due to the size of the city-state, which places it in a disadvantage due to the methodology used.

"Continued efforts made in Singapore around education and innovation are bound to improve the country's output score in the future," said Dr Lanvin.

He also noted that in the face of the global pandemic, the money to fund innovative ventures might be drying up - which presents a huge opportunity cost for countries if funding towards innovative ventures drop.

"Innovation requires continuity, and it would take a generation for countries to catch up," said Dr Lanvin.

Francis Gurry, director general of the WIPO, also said during a media briefing for the GII 2020 that he hoped business and political leaders will sustain or increase innovation expenditure during this period, to give impetus for economic growth and development.

Meanwhile, the report noted that there was a shift in the geography of innovation towards Asia. This year, South Korea had managed to inch up one place to clinch a spot in the top 10, while Hong Kong climbed two spots to 11th.

Additionally, India (48th) and the Philippines (50th) had made it to the top 50 for the first time, while Vietnam - which heads the lower middle-income group - ranked 42th, up almost 30 spots from 2014.

"As shown by China, India and Vietnam, the persistent pursuit of innovation pays off over time," said Soumitra Dutta, former dean and professor of management at Cornell University. "The GII has been used by governments of those countries and others around the world to improve their innovation performance."