Page 12 - COMPASS - COMPETITIVENESS REPORT 2022 - COUNCIL OF COMPETITIVENESS IN GREECE

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The significant deviation in score and, by extension, in rank European Innovation
of indicators concerning sources of innovation (inputs) as Scoreboard
well as how effectively these are utilised (outputs) clearly
demonstrates Greece’s innovation deficit. Case in point, on
According to the European Commission’s European Inno-
average in the last five years, Greece has achieved 90% of
vation Scoreboard (EIS) 2022, Greece’s performance on
the EU-27 score on Innovation Inputs (mean score of EU
innovation at the European level has improved significantly
countries), while its score on Innovation Outputs stands at
over time. In the period 2015–2022, Greece’s innovation
just 67% of the EU-27 score.
performance increased by 24.1%, compared to an EU rate
of just 9.9% during the same period. Specifically, Greece’s
Among the country’s strengths is its expenditure on R&D,
strongest innovation indicators concern innovative SMEs
with Greece ranking 31st of 132 countries globally (down
(Product innovators, Business process innovators, and Sales
from 16th in 2021), followed by its performance on infra-
of innovative products), Linkages (particularly in terms of
structure, where it holds 46th place in the global ranking. In
public-private partnerships), as well as Employment in in-
the Institutions pillar, which concerns stability in the political
novative enterprises. In contrast to the DESI, it appears that
and business environment, it ranked 69th, down from 51st
SME innovation centres on non-digitally intensive products
in 2021. Meanwhile, the Greek innovation ecosystem per-
and processes.
formed significantly better in Market Sophistication, up five
places year-on-year, but still with plenty of room to improve.
At the other end of the spectrum, the country’s perfor-
Meanwhile, Greece ranks 112th of 132 countries on Univer-
mance declined in Environment-related technologies and
sity-industry R&D collaboration, underlining the opportunity
in indicators related to education. Despite this and despite
the country has to turn research output into development.
the significant progress achieved by Greece since 2015—al-
ways according to the EIS 2022 report—our country ranks
Notably, among the Innovation Inputs (sub-)pillars, Greece
20th in the EU-27, with performances close to the European
ranks high on two key indicators: Tertiary enrolment and
average. The Moderate Innovators group, to which Greece
(availability of) Graduates in science and engineering, which
belongs, includes member states whose performance ranges
carries promise for elevating the level of innovation in
between 70% and 100% of the EU average. Greece stands at
Greece. At the same time, according to the Global Innova-
80.2% of the EU average and below the average of Moder-
tion Index 2022, Greece’s innovation performance in relation
ate Innovator group countries.
to GDP can be further improved.
As regards the structural features of the innovation envi-
ronment in relation to the EU, Greece outperforms the EU
in the Innovation Profiles dimension, as the country’s share
of in-house innovators is higher than the EU average. The
indicators with the highest increase since 2021 are R&D
expenditures in the public sector, Product innovators and
Business process innovators, Job-to-job mobility of HRST,
and Medium- and high-tech goods exports. The upward
trend in the structural features of innovation may well lead
to the improvement of macroeconomic indicators in the
years to come.