Many governments, across the OECD and beyond, are facing unprecedented economic and societal challenges and consider science and innovation as part of the response. New data from an EC/OECD survey on science and innovation policies shows that governments have particularly focused policy attention and action in recent years on addressing more immediate economic imperatives and building more effective, impactful and responsible policies. Against a background of slow economic growth and tight budgetary conditions, many governments have shifted attention and support away from public research towards business innovation and entrepreneurship, with a view to promoting firms’ potential to drive a stronger and more sustainable recovery. Efforts have also been made to reinforce national policy evaluation capacity so as to gain efficiency and to better orient science, technology and innovation (STI) policies towards societal goals. This chapter presents recent trends in national science and innovation policies across OECD member countries and major emerging economies, including Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, the Russian Federation and South Africa. It considers the economic and financial conditions that determine innovation behaviour and that currently shape the innovation policy agenda. It presents the “hot” STI policy issues in countries as well as the most recent shifts in national policy mixes. This chapter builds on countries’ responses to the latest European Commission (EC)/OECD International Survey on Science, Technology and Innovation Policies (STIP) and recent OECD work on science and innovation policies.