Innovation ecosystem: concepts, functions, levels of innovation development

Abstract

The concept of an innovation ecosystem has become commonplace and is increasingly included in official documents of countries and organizations, but it doesn’t have an unambiguous interpretation: representatives of various branches of science put different meanings into the concept of an innovation ecosystem. Nowadays, the concept of an innovation ecosystem is in the stage of cognition and identification. An innovation ecosystem is a term used to describe a large and diverse range of participants and resources that promote and are necessary for continuous innovation in a modern economy. The article reveals the essence, the basis of functioning and the concept of an innovation ecosystem by drawing an analogy between innovation and biological ecosystems. The authors highlighted the basic elements of the innovation ecosystem and their relationship at different stages of the innovation life cycle. A historical excursion into the emergence and formation of the concept of an innovation system, an innovation ecosystem is carried out. The definitions of the terms innovation system, and innovation ecosystem by various leading scientists from Ukraine and from around the globe are given. The authors also disclosed the principle of the innovation ecosystem formation at the levels of innovation development as: global (supranational), national, regional, corporate and individual. A detailed analysis (objective, framework, world examples) of each level of the innovation ecosystem is carried out. The authors also gave examples and principles of the formation of well-known, successful and productive innovation ecosystems of Ukraine such as: UNIT.City, Sikorsky Challenge, All-Ukrainian Innovation Festival, Science Park of Kyiv Taras Shevchenko University, Vernadsky Challenge, Interregional Technology Transfer Network (Ukrainian Institute of Scientific and Technical Expertise and Information).