On the leading European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS), the Netherlands has been designated as an 'Innovation Leader', just as in 2022. The Netherlands is fourth overall in this European ranking published last week. The EIS assesses all EU member states on 32 indicators and compares these results with other countries within and outside Europe. This includes the amount of private and public investment in research and development, public-private partnerships, innovation within SMEs, digitalisation, patent applications, quality of research and the level of employment within innovative companies and knowledge institutions.
Minister Micky Adriaansens (Economic Affairs and Climate):
This position is a nice appreciation for all innovative entrepreneurs, researchers and scientists, but it is not self-evident. That is why we are increasingly encouraging that knowledge in the Netherlands remains up to date, but above all also leads to concrete innovations. That is why there are plenty of additional private and government investments in research and innovation to ensure sufficient jobs and income in the Netherlands in the long term. For example in quantum, photonics, hydrogen, but also in biomedical innovation.
Strengths
The EIS identifies traditional strengths of the Netherlands, such as education, the quality of the research (system) resulting in a high level of knowledge, digital skills and their application in innovation. Recent improvements according to the EIS are the amount of cooperation between innovative SMEs and an increasing availability of venture capital in the longer term. At the same time, there are also weaknesses such as the relatively low amount of private investment in innovation. The Netherlands scores below the EU average and ranks in the European average, even though the amount of public investment and government support for private investment are up to standard.
