Oslo Manual 2018
Guidelines for Collecting, Reporting and Using Data on Innovation, 4th Edition
What is innovation and how should it be measured? Understanding the scale of innovation activities, the characteristics of innovative firms and the internal and systemic factors that can influence innovation is a prerequisite for the pursuit and analysis of policies aimed at fostering innovation. First published in 1992, the Oslo Manual is the international reference guide for collecting and using data on innovation. In this fourth edition, the manual has been updated to take into account a broader range of innovation-related phenomena as well as the experience gained from recent rounds of innovation surveys in OECD countries and partner economies and organisations.
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The object method for innovation measurement
This chapter provides guidance on collecting data on innovation from an object-based perspective. The object-based method collects data on a single, focal, most important innovation, facilitating information retrieval about enablers, features and outcomes of business innovations. Although the method can also be applied to unconventional data sources, this chapter describes how to implement the object approach within subject-based innovation surveys that cover the full range of innovation activities and innovations of the firm. Because focal innovations are not representative of the business as a whole, the main purpose of the object approach is to collect data for analytical and research purposes. The method can also be used to assess whether innovation is over- or under-reported by business respondents.