Fostering inclusive innovation for sustainable development

The current growth paradigm is in crisis – productivity growth is falling in industrialised economies, inequality and exclusion have grown in most countries and environmental externalities threaten the survival of humankind. Socio-techno innovation - considered broadly as including embodied technologies such as ICTs, social and institutional design, and patterns of governance - provide the potential for more inclusive growth paths. This potential is illustrated through the analysis of six different innovation experiences. Fostering a more inclusive growth path will require a “Big Push” Inclusive Growth Strategy and a range of synergistic innovations at the macro, meso and micro levels. However, political agency is critical –the new inclusive paradigm requires strategic and purposive interventions.