Innovation
Innovation is treated here as a risk question in two ways: technologies that create new risks, and technologies that could reduce existing ones but are not yet proven where they would be used.
- 01In briefThe short answer
- 02Three mandatesThe field, seen three ways
- 03The systemic questionEvidence before adoption
- 04FrameworksMeasurement and responsible innovation
- 05CouplingsWhere innovation is tested
- 06GroundingThe methods behind the field
- 07Key termsTerms used on this page
GCRI · Institution · service level R0
The short answer.
Innovation as a field covers how new technologies and practices are developed, tested and adopted in the public interest, with their evidence, constraints and consequences. In the Nexus Consortium it is studied as science at GCRI by Nexus Labs and governed at GRF by Innovation Nexus; this gateway links those platforms and the methods they share.
Systemic exposure in South Asia.
Where people and networks concentrate, the exposure through which shocks travel between systems, shown for South Asia as an example geography for this subject.
The field, seen three ways.
Financial understanding
No platform yet in this field.
Evidence before adoption.
A technology demonstrated in a laboratory or a pilot often fails to transfer: different data, different users, missing maintenance capacity. Readiness scales (technology readiness levels) describe the technology, not the institution that would adopt it. Assessment needs both, plus the consequences for safety, rights and the environment.
- Technology readiness and adoption readiness as separate scales.
- Anticipatory assessment of dual-use and misuse potential.
- Measurement of innovation outcomes with the OECD Oslo Manual.
Measurement and responsible innovation.
| Framework or body | What it governs or supplies |
|---|---|
| OECD Frascati and Oslo Manuals | Measurement of research and of innovation |
| Technology readiness levels | Maturity of a technology from principle to proven operation |
| OECD work on responsible innovation | Anticipatory governance of emerging technology |
Where innovation is tested.
Experiments run in Nexus Labs; builds in Nexus Foundry; the main-site overview is Innovation.
Terms used on this page.
Each term as this page uses it. Where a standard-setting body defines the term, the wording follows that body.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Innovation governance | The rules, institutions and processes that steer the direction, pace and distribution of innovation. |
| Responsible innovation | Innovation developed with anticipation of its effects, inclusion of those affected and responsiveness to what is learned. |
| Regulatory sandbox | A supervised framework in which innovations are tested under a regulator's oversight with defined conditions. |
| Mission-oriented innovation policy | Public policy that sets a societal goal and mobilises research and several sectors to reach it. |
Where this page's references lead.
The bodies and documents this page is read against. Status and editions change; each link goes to the issuing body.
Questions and answers.
Why does GCRI host field gateways?
Around GCRI.
Start with an enquiry.
The current service level is R0: information and enquiries. An enquiry receives a reference and names the next step; applications, payments, compute allocations and registrations open only when their team, terms and review capacity exist.