Innovation for Wealth Creation
The word Innovation in its conceptual form is new to many people of Sri Lanka. Many business organizations including the state companies in the country with or without their knowledge about innovation are engaged in such activities in order to bring in or enhance profits of their companies. We all should know that the business innovation is a vital ingredient in raising productivity, competitiveness and growth potential of modern economies. Producing new or improved products and processes will enable in creating new jobs and as a result it will contribute to the country's economic growth and there by uplift the welfare of the communities. As such, it is important for the people of Sri Lanka to have a fair knowledge about what the innovation conceptually means and how as citizens of this country we can contribute to this process in order to enhance the business innovation activities enabling the country's economic development.
In order to improve the innovation process, the innovation has to be measured and estimated. It is imperative for the scientists, researchers and the business community to understand where we are in the country's innovation process in the present context and where we want to be in it in another five or ten years time.
The concept of measuring innovation has been gaining popularity since early 1980s when the OECD undertook developing models and analytical frameworks for the study of innovation. Since then various large scale surveys examining the nature and impacts of innovation in the business sector have been conducted. The European Community Innovation Survey (CIS) has been carried out in its fourth round (CIS4) among the OECD countries with promising results. Later, innovation surveys occurred outside the OECD region. Countries in Latin America, Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa have begun undertaking innovation surveys. Malaysia is conducting its fifth national innovation survey this year to collect information for the last four years.
The National Science Foundation has taken the lead role in measuring the innovation activity in Sri Lanka and the survey will be implemented in January 2010. The proposed large-scale, national, comprehensive and objective statistical survey is the first of its kind in Sri Lanka. We hope that the collection and interpretation of data on innovation activities will form a foundation for better understanding its relation to economic growth. We believe this would then give rise to awareness of what steps the Government should take to ensure a sustainable innovation process that is effective in building an inclusive economy in Sri Lanka.
The survey is planned to cover many public and private business organizations located all over the country under a wider range of industries classified according to the International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC) of economies. Other public organizations such as educational institutes, universities and research institutes are also covered by this survey. Data will be collected for five-year period from 2005 - 2009 inclusive. The survey will be conducted on voluntary basis and will be conducted through postal surveys and personal interviews.
In order to ensure a satisfactory progress a dialogue between the two parties (NSF & organizations) is essential. The NSF has great expectations to complete this survey successfully and produce results for the benefit of all the people in the country. Further, the NSF hopes that all organizations including the business community in the country will become a party to this activity by participating in it and be proud of their contribution made in order to improve the country's economic status.
