March/April 2018

More articles in this issue:

• Smart Cities
• Car Tech Innovation
• Cybersecurity
• Eureka Park Profiles
• CTA is Focusing on AI

CTA released the inaugural edition of its International Innovation Scorecard Report at CES on the Hill - an invitation-only event where congressmembers and media have access to the hottest companies in the tech industry. This report is a tool for innovators, policymakers and business leaders to gauge a country’s progress on innovation friendly policies. 

This year, CTA evaluated 38 countries and the European Union on 25 indicators across 12 categories. Each country was assigned one of four titles: Innovation Champion, Innovation Leader, Innovation Adopter and Modest Innovator. The 2018 Innovation Champions are Australia, Austria, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Singapore, Sweden, United Kingdom and the United States.

These top tier Innovation Champions are global leaders pursuing national policies that encourage innovation, creativity and new ideas. Their policies and attitudes serve as an example to other countries seeking to improve their innovation climates when it comes to diversity, investment, freedom, drones, self-driving vehicles, sharing economy and much more. 

The results prove that innovation thrives in countries that embrace disruptive technologies, promote civil and economic liberties and foster a diverse and talented population.

The Scorecard also identifies critical areas of national policy that spur innovation and reveals the areas in which countries may be stunting their own futures and economic growth.

In the inaugural edition of the International Innovation Scorecard, CTA considered a range of indicators to determine the final roster of countries. It evaluates countries that meet two requirements: the government must be able to influence public policy; and publicly available, verifiable and independent third-party data must exist and be compared with different nations. In future editions, CTA will expand the scope of the Scorecard to include even more countries. 

Key Findings (Countries, ranked by grade)

• MOST DIVERSE: Australia, Canada, Singapore and Sweden 
• GREATEST INDIVIDUAL AND POLITICAL FREEDOM: Canada, Netherlands, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Portugal 
• FASTEST AND MOST AFFORDABLE INTERNET CONNECTIONS: United Kingdom, Finland, South Korea, Sweden, Germany, Denmark, Austria and Netherlands 
• MOST EDUCATED WORKFORCES: Singapore, Israel, Japan, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden and New Zealand 
• MOST INNOVATION-FRIENDLY TAX SYSTEMS: Singapore, China, Panama, Chile, Ireland and Canada 
• GREATEST R&D SPENDING AS A PERCENTAGE OF GDP: Israel, South Korea, Japan, Sweden, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany,  and the U.S. 
• HIGHEST LEVEL OF ENTREPRENEURIAL ACTIVITY: Australia, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, the U.S., Singapore, Ireland and Sweden
• MOST FULLY ENABLING PEOPLE AND COMPANIES TO TEST AND DEPLOY DRONE TECHNOLOGIES: Australia, Finland, Portugal, Singapore and Sweden 
• ALLOW RIDESHARING TO OPERATE MOST FREELY: Finland, Panama, Peru, Poland, Rwanda, South Africa and Mexico
• BEST FEDERAL FRAMEWORKS FOR SHORT-TERM HOME RENTALS: Chile, Denmark, Finland, Israel, Mexico, Nigeria, Peru, Portugal and South Africa
• ALLOW PEOPLE AND COMPANIES TO TEST AND DEPLOY SELF-DRIVING VEHICLES MOST WIDELY: Australia, Austria, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the U.S.
• CLEANEST WATER AND AIR: Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the U.S.