Continuing on the topic of innovation from the last post where we spoke about workplace viability, let's move on to a much bigger scale - to that of bigger groups of people, of nations even.

Jon and Mindy Hirst writes about what makes a place innovative, giving their take on articles from Fast Company and Forbes about companies and countries that are ranked at the top for innovation.  It is quite interesting to also find out about the types of innovaton clusters, citing a McKinsey report, wherein focus, diversification and industry collaboration play important parts in sowing the seeds of innovation.

My take:  Invest in small groups - workplaces, then locales and let culture of innovation spread.  I'm particularly impressed by what other countries like Taiwan has done in manufacturing of computer parts with different companies leading the way.  It is no long-shot to believe that "the most innovative countries — which will also be the highest earning in the future—will be those that embrace a model of “innovation economics,” which places technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship at the center of economic policymaking. Successful nations will not be content to wait for innovation to happen or expect it to occur as a byproduct of other activities, such as defense spending or space exploration. On the contrary: the new leaders will search out innovation and actively create an environment that nurtures it." (The Creativity Agenda)

Related:

Debate - Asia or US:  21st Century Center for Innovation

Netherland's Innovatie Platform - Education, Research and Innovation are Government Priorities

Spurring Innovation By Using Prizes

You may have noticed that besides the posts and our website slogan, we're really crazy about spreading the gospel of innovation and we'd like to invite local companies to join us for the G2iX CIO forums and together help make innovation a vital piece for our companies and hopefully, for the country as a whole.