Recognition of the key role of research and knowledge management in educational practice and policy making is in general recent. The volume of relevant educational research and development (R and D) tends to be low, despite education being so explicitly about knowledge, and there has been only weak capacity to develop and exploit the knowledge base on which to build improved practice and effective policies. A great deal of educational change is still shaped by short-term considerations despite education’s fundamental long-term mission and nature. Improving the knowledge base and fostering innovation have been the aims of policy in a number of countries. Within the OECD, analyses of educational R and D systems, knowledge management, innovative practice including using technology, systemic innovation, futures thinking, and evidence-informed policy and practice, have all been prominent. Analysis has also focused on the so-called 21st century skills, seen as fundamental to innovative and creative societies.