GRF · Innovation Nexus
Innovation ecosystems
An innovation ecosystem is the set of researchers, firms, investors, intermediaries and public institutions whose interactions turn knowledge into new products, services and practices. Its strength lies less in any one actor than in the connections between them: shared infrastructure, mobile people, trusted rules and finance that matches risk. This page sets out how ecosystems form, concentrate and weaken, how their structure is measured, and what the institutions that fund and govern them can do with the evidence.
Innovation ecosystems on the record.
Innovation ecosystems: how the risk develops.
Researchers, builders and public institutions. The dossier below sets out how the risk develops, what is measured, where the data come from, how it is modelled and who decides.
Connections compound
Knowledge flows through collaboration, labour mobility and supplier links. Each new connection raises the value of the others, so dense ecosystems grow denser while sparse ones struggle to start.
Gaps between stages
Research funding, early-stage investment and scale-up finance are held by different institutions with different appetites for risk. Where one stage is thin, promising work stalls between them.
Concentration and dominance
Large platforms, leading firms and research universities attract talent, data and capital. Concentration can deepen capability and also foreclose entry, which brings competition and merger control into innovation policy.
Fragility to shocks
Ecosystems depend on a few anchor institutions, open routes for talent and stable public funding. Losing an anchor, a visa route or a funding line can unwind connections built over decades.
Habitat condition in China.
Population density, land cover and night lights over China, from NASA GIBS. Each layer carries its own date.
The interactive map needs JavaScript; the layer list and sources are below.
Layers 3
Habitat condition, for this page
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Latest available
NASA GIBS / EOSDIS · ASTER GDEM (METI, NASA) · Blue Marble (NASA) · © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) · Natural Earth
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Habitat condition, framed on China.Satellite and model products as NASA publishes them, each with its own date. They are indicators, not assessments of any place.
Data: NASA GIBS · ASTER GDEM · Blue Marble · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Natural Earth · NASA EONET · NASA JPL OPERA DIST-ALERT · U.S. Geological SurveySources and licences
- We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), Columbia University. 2018. Gridded Population of the World, Version 4 (GPWv4): Population Density, Revision 11. NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC). Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). doi:10.7927/H49C6VHW. CC BY 4.0
- MODIS land products (vegetation indices, gross primary production, land cover), NASA LP DAAC and LANCE; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- VIIRS Black Marble night-time lights, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center; distributed by the NASA Level-1 and Atmosphere Archive and Distribution System (LAADS DAAC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- NASA Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS), VIIRS 375 m active fire product, NASA LANCE; vector tiles via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- VIIRS near-real-time products (flood, land surface temperature, snow cover, corrected reflectance), NASA LANCE; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- ASTER GDEM is a product of METI and NASA (ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model V003, NASA LP DAAC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). Cite as: NASA/METI/AIST/Japan Spacesystems and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team (2019). ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model V003. doi:10.5067/ASTER/ASTGTM.003. NASA open data
- Made with Natural Earth. Free vector and raster map data @ naturalearthdata.com. Public domain
- © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), via NASA GIBS (coastlines, boundaries, roads and place names). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). ODbL
- Blue Marble, NASA Earth Observatory; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- Context on the globe and flat map: coastlines, boundaries, roads and place names from NASA GIBS reference layers (OpenStreetMap data, ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors); Blue Marble imagery as an optional base; 3D terrain and the elevation read-out from the ASTER GDEM elevation colour index (5 m to 200 m classes, exaggerated for legibility). Boundaries are drawn as published and imply no position on any territory.
- Live events: NASA Earth Observatory Natural Event Tracker (EONET); events are indicative and keep their original source links.
- Live: NASA EONET Events are indicative, not authority warnings.
- Observed (EO): NASA JPL OPERA DIST-ALERT (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2026). We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS).
- Live: U.S. Geological Survey Events are indicative, not authority warnings.
- NASA GIBS: We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA's Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS).
- Optional layers (7 sources in the layer list: live, forecast, observed and context) print their provider credit on the map and here when switched on; forecasts are model output and derived indices are estimates.
Layers and dates
- Population density, 2020: Population: CIESIN, Columbia University, Gridded Population of the World v4.11 (2018), NASA SEDAC, CC BY 4.0 · static
- Land cover type (IGBP), yearly: MODIS Terra and Aqua land cover (MCD12Q1), NASA LP DAAC · 2024
- Night-time lights, daily: VIIRS Black Marble (VNP46A2), NASA LAADS DAAC · 12 Oct 2026
- Enhanced vegetation index, rolling 8 days: MODIS Terra EVI, NASA LANCE · 13 Oct 2026
- Active fires and thermal anomalies: VIIRS NOAA-20 375 m (FIRMS), NASA LANCE FIRMS · 13 Oct 2026
- Flood water, 3-day composite: VIIRS Global Flood Product, NASA LANCE · 14 Oct 2026
What is measured, and how well.
Each indicator carries its unit, its cadence, the kind of source behind it and the evidence label a value would carry. No values are shown: a programme supplies them under its own authority.
| Indicator | Unit | Cadence | Source type | Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gross domestic expenditure on R&D by sector of performance | percent of GDP | annual | National R&D surveys under the Frascati Manual | Published statistics |
| Business enterprise researchers | full-time equivalents per thousand employment | annual | National R&D surveys | Published statistics |
| Innovation-active enterprises cooperating with universities or public research | percent of innovation-active enterprises | biennial | Community Innovation Survey | Published statistics |
| Public-private co-publications | count per million population | annual | Bibliometric databases | ESTIMATED |
| Venture capital investment by stage | percent of GDP | annual | Published venture statistics and commercial databases | REPORTED |
| International co-invention | percent of patent families with foreign co-inventors | annual | Patent databases | ESTIMATED |
| Researcher mobility between sectors and countries | count of researchers changing affiliation | annual | Bibliometric affiliation tracking | MODELLED |
Exercise a cascade in innovation ecosystems with the people who decide.
Assembled from the Nexus Standards area profile Frontier technology risk standards: the hazards it names, the systems and communities that carry the loss, the controls and institutions that dampen it and the data that observe it. Pick an initiating event and step through the cascade to see where mandates meet and which decisions fall to whom. The Map view places the run on an example geography with open data. Every weight is a stated assumption. An exercise for dialogue, not a forecast, an assessment or a position. To model a place of your own choosing, open the full System Builder.
Hazards
- Cryptographically relevant quantum computer
- Dam failure
- River flood (set off downstream)
- Flash flood (set off downstream)
- Mass displacement (set off downstream)
- Data breach (set off downstream)
- Mass account takeover (set off downstream)
- Harvest-now, decrypt-later collection (set off downstream)
- Widespread power outage (set off downstream)
- Water supply shortfall (set off downstream)
Systems and couplings
Controls
NS-0Constitution and principlesNS-10Policies and clauses (machine-readable obligations: definition, binding, evaluation and enforcement)NS-11Verification and monitoring (evidence, attestations, zero-trust conformance observation)NS-12Software, model and AI/ML artefacts (supply chain, model cards, dataset sheets)NRS-H104Hazard family: Quantum technology and cryptographic transition (NHS-1 tech.quantum)NRS-T9Quantum technology and cryptographic transition riskNRS-T0Exponential technology risk and responsible innovationNRS-H109Hazard family: Energy-transition technology failures (NHS-1 tech.energy-transition)NRS-M19Method fabric: Cyber, AI and frontier technologyNRS-U12Universe platform profile: Foresight Nexus
Observation
- Our World in Data datasets (listed for reference)
- World Bank Open Data and World Development Indicators API (listed for reference)
- Research and development expenditure as a proportion of GDP
- Researchers per million inhabitants
Example geography
- North America: 243 hexagonal cells
- Night lights tonight, outages (VIIRS Day/Night Band), NASA GIBS
- Surface water through cloud, 30 m (OPERA DSWx-S1 radar), NASA GIBS
- Rain rate, last half hour (IMERG), NASA GIBS
- Surface soil moisture (SMAP), NASA GIBS
Where the evidence comes from.
Named public datasets and institutional records, each with its licence class. Sources by agreement are used only under their terms and never republished.
| Source | What it gives | Licence class |
|---|---|---|
| OECD Main Science and Technology Indicators (MSTI) | R&D expenditure, personnel and government R&D budgets by country and sector | Open, attribution (OECD terms) |
| Eurostat Community Innovation Survey | Firm innovation activity, cooperation and barriers, harmonised under the Oslo Manual | Open aggregates, attribution; microdata by research access |
| WIPO Global Innovation Index | Innovation input and output indicators and science and technology cluster data by economy | Free, attribution (WIPO terms) |
| European Innovation Scoreboard (European Commission) | Comparative innovation performance of EU member states and neighbours | Free reuse, attribution |
| EPO PATSTAT | Bibliographic and legal-status data on patent applications worldwide | Licensed by the European Patent Office |
| EC-OECD STIP Compass | National science, technology and innovation policy initiatives, instruments and budgets | Free, attribution (OECD terms) |
Who a decision on innovation ecosystems reaches.
The sectors a policy on innovation ecosystems has to coordinate: a choice in one ministry lands in the others.
Signature
Biodiversity and its partners
Biodiversity gives pollination and soils to food (0.6), watershed regulation to water (0.5) and zoonotic spillover and medicines to health (0.4).
W · E · I · F · H · B
- Sectors
- 4 of 6
- Relations
- 6 of 15
- Coupling
- 0.46 share of total
Strongest relations in play
- Food → Biodiversity · land conversion0.6
- Water → Food · irrigation0.8
- Water → Biodiversity · environmental flows0.6
- Food → Health · nutrition0.7
Who decides, and what the evidence serves.
Innovation Nexus prepares evidence. The decisions below are taken by the authorities named, under their own rules, and never by the platform.
| Who decides | The question | Evidence this page serves |
|---|---|---|
| Ministries of science, innovation and economy | Where public funding, infrastructure or brokerage would strengthen the ecosystem most | Ecosystem maps with anchors and gaps; funding-stage analyses |
| Innovation agencies and research councils | Which collaboration instruments to run, renew or close | Cooperation indicators from innovation surveys; evaluation designs for each instrument |
| Competition authorities | Whether an acquisition or a practice forecloses entry in an innovative market | Concentration of talent, data, patents and capital around the parties; prior merger-review records |
| Immigration and higher-education authorities | How visa and research-mobility rules affect the talent flows ecosystems rely on | Researcher mobility estimates with their method stated |
Outputs this topic produces
- Ecosystem maps of actors, links and anchor institutions, with data gaps marked
- Funding-stage gap analyses across research, early-stage and scale-up finance
- Dependency registers showing which links rest on a single institution or route
- Programme designs for intermediaries such as clusters and technology centres
How innovation ecosystems is governed: instruments, mandates and commitments.
The instruments, mandates, actors and accountability arrangements a policymaker, diplomat or development agency works with, citing the agreements that set them. Structures follow the frameworks named. Any state or progress drawn is illustrative, not a record.
Policy instrument matrix
The kinds of instrument available on innovation ecosystems, by level of government and cooperation.
| Instrument type | Local | National | Regional | Global |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regulatory | Zoning, building codes | Laws, standards, licensing | Harmonised rules | Conventions and treaties |
| Economic | Local levies, grants | Budget lines, taxes, insurance schemes | Risk pools, regional funds | Financing mechanisms |
| Information | Local warnings | Disclosure, early warning, statistics | Data sharing arrangements | Global monitoring and reporting |
| Institutional | Local committees | Lead agencies, coordination councils | Regional bodies and secretariats | Multilateral mandates |
| Cooperative | Community agreements | Partnership compacts | Memoranda and joint programmes | Agreements and joint commitments |
What experts ask.
Ecosystem questions are about connections, not only capacities.
- Who are the actors, and how strong are the links between them?
- How do ideas, people, capital and data move through the ecosystem?
- Where do promising ideas stall, and why?
- What role do public institutions play: funder, customer, regulator, convener or all four?
- Is the ecosystem open to newcomers, or dominated by a few incumbents?
Mechanisms and drivers.
Innovation emerges from interaction. Universities produce knowledge and graduates; firms turn knowledge into products; investors take on risk; public institutions fund research, buy solutions and set rules; intermediaries such as incubators and technology transfer offices broker connections. When any link is weak, for example when researchers and firms rarely meet, or public buyers cannot purchase new solutions, the system underperforms regardless of individual excellence.
Ecosystems are path-dependent: early successes attract talent and capital, which attract more. That creates strong clusters but also concentration and exclusion, and it makes ecosystems hard to build from scratch. Shocks travel through the same links, so the loss of a major firm, funder or university programme can weaken a whole ecosystem.
Why now: governments are investing heavily in innovation clusters and strategic technologies, and the governance of who benefits and who carries the risk is often an afterthought. Innovation Nexus compares ecosystem governance across regions and convenes public and private actors on shared rules.
How it is studied, and where the methods stop.
| Method or data | What it shows | Limits |
|---|---|---|
| Network and collaboration analysis | Links between actors through co-publication, co-patenting and contracts | Formal links miss informal collaboration |
| Innovation surveys | Firm innovation activity and barriers | Self-reported and periodic |
| Case studies of ecosystems | How specific ecosystems developed | Hard to generalise from unique histories |
| Systems mapping | Flows and bottlenecks across the system | Depends on the judgement of those mapping it |
How it is studied, and what the methods cannot say.
- 01Policy, institutional and decision scienceMandate and gap mapping · Programme evaluation design · Comparative regulatory analysisApplied here
- 02Systems engineeringRequirements traceability for AI governance · Readiness gates for transfer programmesApplied here
- 03Artificial intelligence and machine learningCoding policy and legal texts · Mapping patents and papers to technologiesApplied here
Questions and answers.
What is the difference between an ecosystem and a cluster?
Why not use a single innovation index?
Can strong ecosystems be built by policy?
Can an innovation ecosystem be designed?
Why do public institutions matter so much?
Does Innovation Nexus support specific ventures?
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