An innovation quality index launched by Cornell University, the World Intellectual Property Organization and French business school INSEAD, puts Canada in 11th place among countries around the world when it comes to innovation and producing patents.

The Global Innovation Index, released recently focuses on three key factors: University education, patents and publication of scientific research. The GII 2013 looked at 142 economies around the world, using 84 indicators including the quality of top universities, availability of microfinance, venture capital deals - gauging both innovation capabilities and measurable results.

Unlike other innovation indexes, this one tracks only each country’s top achievements, rather than it national totals or averages.

For instance, in comparing patents, the index considers only those filed in at least three different countries. In comparing research it considers only those cited in other publications.

The index ranked Canada 11th as an innovator below leaders such as the United States, Great Britain, Germany and Japan.

Canada also lags in international patents. It was ranked 19th behind Denmark, Israel and Barbados.

“Dynamic innovation hubs are multiplying around the world despite the difficult state of the global economy.” said WIPO Director General Francis Gurry. “For national-level policy makers seeking to support innovation, realizing the full potential of innovation in their own backyards is often a more promising approach than trying to emulate successful innovation models elsewhere.”

Too many innovation strategies have been focused on trying to replicate previous successes elsewhere, like Silicon Valley in California, the GII report said.

“However, fostering local innovation requires strategies that should be deeply rooted in local comparative advantages, history and culture,” according to the report. “They should be combined with a global approach to reach out to foreign markets, and attract overseas talent.”

Among the encouraging signs identified by GII 2013, 18 emerging economies are outperforming other countries in their respective income groups in order of distance: the Republic of Moldova, China, India, Uganda, Armenia, Viet Nam, Malaysia, Jordan, Mongolia, Mali, Kenya, Senegal, Hungary, Georgia, Montenegro, Costa Rica, Tajikistan and Latvia. All of them demonstrate rising levels of innovation compared with their peers.

(By Nestor E. Arellano)