Chile lidera ranking de Sociedad de la Información en la región

Tras haber perdido 10 posiciones en el ranking mundial de la Sociedad de la Información (NRI) durante el 2004 al 2009, Chile ha mejorado seis lugares en los tres últimos años, superando actualmente 10 países de la OECD y liderando América Latina. El año pasado Chile ocupaba el lugar 39 y en el reporte 2013 se ubicó en la posición 34 entre 144 países.

Según el World Economic Forum, el factor de mayor avance fue la relación entre precio y acceso a los servicios de telecomunicaciones. Destaca además el impacto social con un avance del lugar 36 al 27 por el empoderamiento ciudadano que brindan las TIC en Chile. Siguieron en buena posición el entorno político-regulatorio para los negocios y la innovación (lugar 30).

Efectivamente, la fuerte reducción en los costos de acceso impulsó al alza otras variables que mide el estudio,  como el impacto social en el uso intensivo de las Tecnologías de Información y Comunicación, especialmente en las escuelas y en la participación ciudadana a través de las redes digitales.

Los países de la OCDE superados por Chile en el indicador global son Grecia, México, Eslovaquia, Italia, Polonia, Turquía, Hungría, República Checa, España, Eslovenia.

En tanto en América Latina, Uruguay escolta a Chile como segundo país de la región mejor ubicado en el ranking, pero lejos de Chile en el lugar 52. También destaca que países con un PIB muy superior a Chile como Brasil solo se ubique en el lugar 60.

Al respecto, el Ministro de Transportes y Telecomunicaciones de Chile, Pedro Pablo Errázuriz, destacó que “Chile está cumpliendo con el desafío planteado por el Presidente Sebastián Piñera el 2010, de recuperar durante su gobierno el liderazgo de nuestro país en materia de telecomunicaciones y economía digital, tras caer el año 2009 al lugar 40 en este ranking mundial”.

“Hoy estamos viendo los frutos concretos de las reformas profundas que hemos introducido en la Industria de Telecomunicaciones durante los últimos tres años, con una visión de Estado de largo plazo, que ha favorecido el acceso y el uso cotidiano de las personas de las nuevas tecnologías en un entorno de inversión, competencia, despliegue de infraestructura y desarrollo de habilidades digitales”, resaltó Errázuriz.

En la misma línea, el Subsecretario de Telecomunicaciones, Jorge Atton, enfatizó que “este avance del país ha sido liderado por el gobierno con una política pública pionera en telecomunicaciones, debe proyectarse hacia el 2020 con un mayor esfuerzo de las empresas en el uso productivo de las tecnologías y de Internet en la economía digital. Lo más importante de este informe es que refleja que en Chile los beneficios del desarrollo digital están llegando a las personas”.

Fuente: Subtel

Fuente: http://www.innovacion.gob.cl/2013/04/chile-lidera-ranking-de-sociedad-de-la-informacion-en-la-region/

Las 10 empresas más innovadoras de Sudamérica, según Fast Company

La revista estadounidense Fast Company dio a conocer su guía anual de compañías más innovadores. Además del ranking mundial –encabezado por Nike– la publicación realizó otro de las empresas más innovadoras en Sudamérica.

De las diez empresas sudamericanas que integran el ranking elaborado por la revista, cuatro son brasileñas, cuatro argentinas y las dos restantes, uruguayas. Este es el detalle y los motivos expuestos por la publicación:

1- Enalta (Brasil)

Por ofrecer una solución a la tambaleante industria del etanol en Brasil. La compañía ofrece un software y GPS para monitorear la siembra y el riego, lo que da a los agricultores una cosecha más productiva. Y eso es un gran problema para el país, donde la caña de azúcar – se utiliza para producir etanol – es una parte importante de la economía local.

2 – MercadoLibre (Argentina)

Por crear el eBay de América Latina. Un informe de Nielsen reveló que por lo menos 134.000 personas en América Latina obtienen una parte importante de sus ingresos por sus ventas en este sitio. La compañía sigue siendo la única compañía que cotiza en NASDAQ desde Argentina o Brasil, y su CEO y co-fundador Marcos Galperin con frecuencia sirve como un mentor para los empresarios de la región.

3 – Prospéritas Capital Partners (Uruguay)

Por catalizar la escena de las start-ups en el segundo país más pequeño de Sudamérica. La compañía con base en Montevideo ya ha invertido US$ 11 millones en emprendimientos uruguayos del sector de las TI, webs de consumo y aplicaciones móviles, con varios casos de éxito.

4 – GraalBio (Brasil)

Para volver a imaginar biocombustibles avanzados. Este año, la empresa de São Paulo, con sede en Brasil, construirá una planta de etanol que realizará algo único: En lugar de utilizar la caña de azúcar, se creará etanol a partir de residuos. Cuando haya terminado, la planta espera producir 82 millones de litros de etanol celulósico por año.

5 – Authenware (Argentina)

Por velar por su seguridad en línea. La compañía argentina basada en Mendoza ha sido pionera en el desarrollo de pulsación de tecla y software biométrico, que detecta el ritmo de la tipificación de los usuarios y puede ayudar a combatir el fraude de identidad en línea.

6 – Tecsis (Brasil)

Por aprovechar eficientemente el viento. Esta empresa brasileña desarrolla a medida palas para aerogeneradores, utilizando la tecnología de la industria aeronáutica y el espacio. La empresa exporta casi la mitad de sus productos a los EE.UU.

7 – Netshoes (Brasil)

Por popularizar el comercio electrónico a través del deporte. La empresa fue uno de los adoptadores tempranos de comercio electrónico de Brasil, y se espera que pronto se convierta en una de las dos primeras empresas de comercio electrónico de Brasil para tener una OPI. Se estima que los ingresos para 2012 serán de aproximadamente $ 500 millones, y está mirando a una gran expansión.

8 – Kaszek Ventures (Argentina)

Por tratar de revertir en solitario la dirección del flujo de capital de un país en medio de una gran tensión política y económica. En momentos en que la fuga de capitales va en aumento en la Argentina y las inversiones extranjeras son escasas, esta firma ha recaudado casi 100 millones de dólares invertidos en 21 empresas.

9 – Inetsat  (Uruguay)

Por darle a los pequeños proveedores de televisión una oportunidad de pelear. Es un emprendimiento llevado adelante por el uruguayo Pablo Salomon, actual presidente de la Cámara Uruguaya de Tecnologías de la Información.

10 – Fuerza Bruta (Argentina)

Por la defensa de la cultura argentina en el mundo. Desde 2005, esta producción teatral podría ser más conocida como la exportación cultural de la Argentina (aparte de tango).

Fuente: http://www.innovacion.gob.cl/2013/02/las-10-empresas-mas-innovadoras-de-sudamerica-segun-fast-company/

Los 50 países más innovadores, según Bloomberg

Estados Unidos es el país más innovador del mundo, seguido por Corea del Sur y Alemania, según el Bloomberg Innovation Quotient. Este índice creado por el prestigioso portal financiero clasifica a los países en una escala del 0% al 100% usando siete factores diferentes, cada uno de ellos tiene una ponderación según su importancia.

Los países fueron incluidos sólo si no había datos suficientes para al menos cinco de los siete factores analizados. Ellos son: investigación y desarrollo (20% de ponderación), productividad (20%), alta tecnología (20%) Capacidad de producción, fabricación de bienes de alto valor añadido (10%), concentración de la investigación, investigador por millón de habitantes (20%), eficiencia terciaria, que mide la tasa de matriculación de estudiantes para recibir educación post-secundaria y su especialización (5%), por último actividad de patentes, solicitudes presentadas de patentes por residentes por millón de habitantes y por cada millón de gasto en Investigación y desarrollo (5%).

Para el caso de Estados Unidos, líder de la medición, sus estadísticas lo ubican 9º en investigación y desarrollo, 3º en productividad, 10º en concentración de la investigación, 26º en eficiencia terciaria y 6º en actividad de patentes.

El listado de los 50 países más innovadores es el siguiente:

  1. Estados Unidos
  2. Corea del Sur
  3. Alemania
  4. Finlandia
  5. Suecia
  6. Japón
  7. Singapur
  8. Austria
  9. Dinamarca
  10. Francia
  11. Holanda
  12. Irlanda
  13. Noruega
  14. Rusia
  15. Bélgica
  16. Luxemburgo
  17. Canadá
  18. Reino Unido
  19. Eslovenia
  20. Islandia
  21. Suiza
  22. Australia
  23. República Checa
  24. Italia
  25. Portugal
  26. Hungría
  27. España
  28. Nueva Zelandia
  29. China
  30. Polonia
  31. Estonia
  32. Israel
  33. Lituania
  34. Eslovaquia
  35. Croacia
  36. Hong Kong
  37. Turquía
  38. Malasia
  39. Malta
  40. Túnez
  41. Grecia
  42. Ucrania
  43. Bulgaria
  44. Letonia
  45. Argentina
  46. Rumania
  47. Irán
  48. Macedonia
  49. Bielorrusia
  50. Sudáfrica

Fuente: http://www.innovacion.gob.cl/2013/02/los-50-paises-mas-innovadores-segun-bloomberg/

Las 50 empresas más innovadoras del 2013

FuelBand de Nike

Para sorpresa de muchos, Nike se transformó en la empresa más innovadora del 2013, según el ranking publicado por Fast Company. Más atrás aparece Amazon y Square, en un listado de 50 compañías donde se destaca la ausencia de Facebook y Twitter.

Según publica la revista, esta guía anual analiza el estado de la innovación en la economía, con los negocios cuyas innovaciones están teniendo el mayor impacto a través de sus industrias y su cultura en su conjunto.

Respecto al primer lugar de Nike, la publicación destaca que durante 2012 la firma concretó dos golpes al mercado. La primera es FuelBand, una pulsera de US$ 150 electrónica que mide los movimientos de todo el día. Desde un trote hasta la caminata al trabajo.  El equipo ganó elogios por su diseño elegante y una interfaz limpia que permite a los usuarios tener detalles de su actividad de forma simple.

La otra innovación es la Flyknit Racer, zapatos de peso pluma que se sienten más como un calcetín encima de una suela. El resultado es un zapato más ecológico y que podría reducir a largo plazo los costos de producción.

Producir una sola de estas innovaciones en un año determinado es una rareza para cualquier empresa, especialmente una con 44.000 empleados. Y Nike sorprendió con dos.

¿Y por qué Facebook y Twitter no aparecen entre las empresas más innovadoras? Fast Company precisa que Facebook tuvo un año enfocado en reavivar el el crecimiento de los ingresos y Twitter apuntó a hacer dinero suficiente para empezar a justificar su valoración de US$ 11,000,000,000.

A continuación, presentamos el listado completo de las 50 compañías más innovadoras del 2013:

1.- Nike. Por un par de nuevos y revolucionarios productos y una cultura de verdaderos creyentes

2.- Amazon. Por agilizar la política de cambio.

3.- Square. Por extender la revolución de pagos móviles.

4.- Splunk. Por llevar grandes volúmenes de datos a las masas.

5. Fab. Por ayudar a las personas a mejorar sus vidas con el diseño.

6. Uber. Por ser el epítome de datos disruptivos para startups.

7. Sproxil. Por denunciar a cualquier persona que vende mercancías fraudulentas.

8. Pinterest. Por desbloquear nuestra obsesión por la imagen.

9. Safaricom. Por llenar un vacío de atención médica con las telecomunicaciones.

10. Target. Por contraer la caja grande

11. Google. Por añadir fibra a nuestra dieta de internet.

12. Airbnb. Por actualizar a sí mismo un destino vacacional de cinco estrellas.

13. Apple. Por deleitar nuestras retinas con su pantalla de retina.

14. The Coca-Cola co. Por convertir un gigantesco brand en un colectivo de comercialización ágil.

15. Pig Newton. Por Louis C.K. vendiendo directamente a sus aficionados.

16. Tencent. Por empujar al pueblo chino a hablar.

17. Samsung. Por elevar la imitación a una forma de arte.

18. Buzzfeed. Por reinventar cómo las noticias (y la publicidad!) es compartida.

19. Nasty gal, modcloth, styleseat, science, snapette, birchbox, ahalife. Por dar a los negocios de la moda y la belleza de un cambio de imagen digital.

20. Seechange health. Por hacer de la salud – no los costos de atención de la salud – su principal prioridad.

21. Oxitec. Por luchar contra los insectos con los insectos, y salvar vidas humanas.

22. Mahindra reva, tesla. Por extender los coches eléctricos a nuevas audiencias.

23. Sodastream. Por hacer de la carbonatación algo sexy.

24. Opengamma. Por llevar transparencia a la financiación.

25. D-rev. Por llevar una ética de diseño a la asistencia sanitaria del tercer mundo

26. Rovio. Por hacer de las aplicaciones la nueva fuente de grandes franquicias de entretenimiento.

27. Ford. Por convertir a una compañía de automóviles en líder en software.

28. Western Governors University. Por mostrar a las escuelas públicas otra manera de hacer negocios.

29. Droga5. Por dar a las grandes marcas un zumbido

30. Yelp. Por ser el líder local.

31. Bittorrent. Por utilizar su poder para ayudar a los artistas que la necesitan.

32. Github, Parse. Por acelerar el ritmo de desarrollo de software.

33. Nest. Por calentar el sueño de un hogar inteligente.

34. Proteus digital health, dexcom, ge healthcare. Por conectar nuestra sangre en los canales de datos que nos puede hacer más saludable.

35. Oktogo. Por llevar la reserva de viajes en línea a países desconfiados.

36. Corning. Por convertir a un gorila de 800 libras en un negocio de pantalla táctil.

37. NBA. Por resolver el enigma del contenido deportivo.

38. Landwasher. Por la construcción del (casi) totalmente inodoro natural del futuro

39. Evernote. Por la fabricación de sus usuarios más inteligentes.

40. Coursera. Por asustar a la vez y cortejar a las universidades en el futuro de la educación.

41. Activision. Por elevar el juego físico y digital.

42. Roku. Por dirigir la evolución de la televisión.

43. Enalta. Por crecer como la gran industria brasileña.

44. Seegrid, mazor robotics, spacex, reconrobotics. Por la fabricación de robots tan inteligentes, que pueden mezclarse con nosotros en el trabajo.

45. Kiip. Por hacer los anuncios para móviles que la gente quiere.

46. Ppr.  Por convertir la sostenibilidad en ciencia.

47. AngelList. Por ser la Match.com para las startups.

48. Microsoft. Por revolucionar el entretenimiento doméstico.

49. Qcue. Por utilizar los datos para llenar el vacío entre los aficionados y los equipos.

50. Tumblr. Por mostrar que los anuncios y el contenido grande puede mezclarse en los medios sociales.

Para más detalles de “The World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies 2013“, visitar el siguiente link

Recomendamos leer: Las 50 compañías más innovadoras del 2012, según Fast Company

Fuente: http://www.innovacion.gob.cl/2013/02/las-50-empresas-mas-innovadoras-del-2013-segun-fast-company/

Which are the Best Countries for Innovation?

Which are the best Countries for Innovation?Here is a report drawn up by the IMF, OECD and the UN to rank international innovation competitiveness. The authors constructed an Innovation Capacity Index (ICI) that draws on a range of available data to correlate the wide-ranging set of relevant factors, policies, and institutional characteristics which play a central role in boosting a nation’s capacity for innovation. In its 2010/11 edition, the ICI covers 131 countries and identifies over 60 factors that are seen to have a bearing on a country’s ability to create an environment that encourages innovation, such as a nation’s institutional environment, human capital endowment, the presence of social inclusion, the regulatory and legal framework, the infrastructure for research and development, and the adoption and use of information and communication technologies, among others.

The top 25 countries with their ICI scores are:

1. Sweden – 80.3

2. Switzerland – 78.1

3. Singapore – 76.7

4. Finland –  76.1

5. United States –  74.8

6. Denmark – 74.3

7. Canada – 73.6

8. Netherlands – 72.8

9. Taiwan – 72.5

10. Luxembourg – 72.2

11. South Korea – 72.1

12. Norway – 72.0

13. Hong Kong – 71.4

14. New Zealand – 71.3

15. United Kingdom – 71.3

16. Japan – 70.2

17. Australia – 69.4

18. Ireland – 69.1

19. Iceland – 69.0

20. Germany – 68.9

21. Israel – 67.5

22. Austria – 66.7

23. Belgium – 66.1

24. France – 65.3

25. Estonia – 60.5

And the bottom three are:

129. Haiti – 28.3

130. Chad – 27.4

131. Afghanistan – 27.4

It is notable that China does not do well – it comes in at number 64 with a score of 49.9.

The Executive Summary contains many interesting insights.

Source: http://www.innovationexcellence.com/blog/2012/07/18/which-are-the-best-countries-for-innovation/

Release of the Global Innovation Index 2012: Switzerland Retains First-Place Position in Innovation Performance

Released jointly by WIPO, INSEAD and its Global Innovation Index 2012 edition Knowledge Partners, Alcatel-Lucent, Booz & Company, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)

Global Innovation Index 2012 PDF,  Global Innovation Index 2012

For the second year running, Switzerland, Sweden, and Singapore lead in overall innovation performance according to the Global Innovation Index 2012 (GII): Stronger Innovation Linkages for Global Growth, published by INSEAD, the leading international business school, and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), a specialized agency of the United Nations.

The report ranks 141 countries/economies on the basis of their innovation capabilities and results. It benefits from the experience of Knowledge Partners Alcatel-Lucent, Booz & Company, and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), as well as an Advisory Board of eleven international experts.

The study shows that the dynamics of innovation continue to be affected by the emergence of new successful innovators, as seen by the range of countries across continents in the top twenty GII ranking, as well as the good performances of emerging countries such as Latvia, Malaysia, China, Montenegro, Serbia, Republic of Moldova, Jordan, Ukraine, India, Mongolia, Armenia, Georgia, Namibia, Viet Nam, Swaziland, Paraguay, Ghana, Senegal; and low-income countries Kenya and Zimbabwe.

“The GII is a timely reminder that policies to promote innovation are critical to the debate on spurring sustainable economic growth,” WIPO Director General Francis Gurry said. “The downward pressure on investment in innovation exerted by the current crisis must be resisted. Otherwise we risk durable damage to countries’ productive capacities. This is the time for forward-looking policies to lay the foundations for future prosperity.”

Top 10 Leaders in the overall Global Innovation Index 2012

The list of overall GII top 10 performers has changed little from last year. Switzerland, Sweden, and Singapore are followed in the top ten by Finland, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Denmark, Hong Kong (China), Ireland, and the United States of America. Canada is the only country leaving the top 10 this year, mirroring weakening positions on all main GII innovation input and output pillars. The report shows that the U.S.A. continues to be an innovation leader but also cites relative shortfalls in areas such as education, human resources and innovation outputs as causing a drop in its innovation ranking.


At a glance: Global Innovation Index 2012 PDF, Global Innovation Index 2012 infographic

Top 10 Leaders in the Global Innovation Index

  1. Switzerland
  2. Sweden
  3. Singapore
  4. Finland
  5. United Kingdom
  6. Netherlands
  7. Denmark
  8. Hong Kong (China)
  9. Ireland
  10. United States of America

Regional leaders in the overall GII and the BRIC countries

The leaders in their regions are: Switzerland in Europe, the US in Northern America, Singapore in South East Asia and Oceania, Israel in Northern Africa and Western Asia, Chile in Latin America and the Caribbean, India in Central and Southern Asia, and Mauritius in Sub-Saharan Africa. Among low-income economies the leader is Kenya.

Soumitra Dutta, Roland Berger Professor of Business and Technology at INSEAD and the founder of the GII noted, “The GII seeks to update and improve the way innovation is measured. Today’s definitions must capture an environment which is context-driven, problem-focused and interdisciplinary. The 2012 variables were broadened in an effort to find the right mix which captures innovation as it happens today.”

The report notes a need for the BRIC countries (Brazil, the Russian Federation, India, and China) to invest further in their innovation capabilities to live up to their expected potential. China’s performance on the key knowledge and technology outputs pillar is outpaced only by Switzerland, Sweden, Singapore, and Finland. However, the report notes that both China and India have weaknesses in their innovation infrastructure and environment. The report also notes that Brazil has suffered the largest drop among the BRICs.

“Innovation is becoming the spearhead of competition – at a regional level, on a national level, and for companies,” said Ben Verwaayen, CEO of Alcatel-Lucent. “How to deal with that challenge will determine the destiny of competiveness for all players.”

Top 10 Leaders in the overall Global Innovation Efficiency Index 2012

Complementing the overall GII ranking, the Global Innovation Efficiency Index shows which countries are best in transforming given innovation inputs into innovation outputs. Countries which are strong in producing innovation outputs despite a weaker innovation environment and innovation inputs are poised to rank high in this “efficiency” index.

In the Global Innovation Efficiency Index, China and India lead the top 10 league of countries. Four of the top 10 countries in the Efficiency Index are lower-middle income countries.

Top 10 in the Global Innovation Efficiency Index

  1. China
  2. India
  3. Republic of Moldova
  4. Malta
  5. Switzerland
  6. Paraguay
  7. Serbia
  8. Estonia
  9. Netherlands
  10. Sri Lanka

“Developed economies must continue to strengthen and develop linkages amongst stakeholders in the innovation landscape to stay ahead in strategic sectors,” said Per-Ola Karlsson, Senior Partner, Managing Director of Europe, Booz & Company. “Similarly, developing economies must institute a national model that establishes coherent linkages in their innovation systems. By aligning cross-cutting policies and coordinating the efforts of all stakeholders, these coherent linkages drive the innovation process.”

Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII said, “Every country can aspire to be an innovation-driven economy. The more resource-constrained an economy is, the more prone to innovation it actually can be. Importantly, innovation is about acts which improve everyday lives and a journey towards faster-sustainable-inclusive-growth”

Deep innovation divides between countries and regions persist


The GII identifies three groups of countries: innovation leaders, learners and
underperformers – full graphic PDF, Global Innovation Index 2012 country groups

The GII 2012 shows that a new dynamic of innovation is emerging regardless of deep and persistent innovation divides between countries and regions. The most important innovation gaps exist between countries at different stages of development. On average, high-income countries outpace countries with less income per capita by a wide margin across the board in all innovation performance metrics. Large innovation divides also exist across geographic regions, especially when comparing average performances across high-income countries with those of other regions, such as Africa, large parts of Asia and Latin America.

The Report highlights a multi-speed Europe, with innovation leaders in Northern and Western Europe, Eastern European and Baltic countries catching-up, and a Southern Europe that performs less well.

Comparing the overall GII scores to countries GDP per capita, the report identifies three groups of countries. Among the “innovation leaders” are high-income countries such as Switzerland, the Nordic countries, Singapore, UK, Netherlands, Hong Kong (China), Ireland, USA, Luxembourg, Canada, New Zealand, Germany, Malta, Israel, Estonia, Belgium, Republic of Korea, France, Japan, Slovenia, Czech Republic, and Hungary, which have succeeded in creating innovation ecosystems where investments in human capital thrive in fertile and stable innovation infrastructures favorable to knowledge, technology and creative outputs.

The group of “innovation learners” – middle-income countries – includes Latvia, Malaysia, China, Montenegro, Serbia, Republic of Moldova, Jordan, Ukraine, India, Mongolia, Armenia, Georgia, Namibia, Viet Nam, Swaziland, Paraguay, Ghana, and Senegal. Among low-income countries, Kenya, and Zimbabwe stand out.

These middle- and low-income economies demonstrate rising levels of innovation achievement as a result of improvements in institutional frameworks, a skilled labour force, better innovation infrastructures, a deeper integration with global financial and other markets, and a sophisticated business community — even if progress in these dimensions is not uniform across all segments of the country.

“Innovation underperformers” are countries with weaknesses in their innovation systems. They include a mix of high-income as well as middle-income countries as shown in the chart above PDF, innovation underperformers.

The theme of this year’s GII report, ‘Stronger innovation linkages for global growth’, underlines the importance of productive interactions among innovation actors—firms, the public sector, academia, and society—in modern innovation ecosystems.  Download the full report PDF,  Global Innovation Index 2012 or additional highlights, economy profiles and rankings.

This year’s Global Innovation Index


Top ranking countries/economies for selected indicators from
the Global Innovation Index 2012
PDF, Global Innovation Index 2012 infographic 2

To support the global innovation debate, to guide polices and to highlight good practices, metrics are required to assess innovation and related policy performance. The Global Innovation Index (GII) helps to create an environment in which innovation factors are under continual evaluation, and it provides a key tool and a rich database of detailed metrics for refining innovation policies.

This is the fifth year the GII has been published, and the first in which INSEAD and WIPO are co-publishers. The Global Innovation Index (GII) project was launched by INSEAD in 2007 with the goal of determining how to find metrics and approaches to better capture the richness of innovation in society and go beyond such traditional measures of innovation as the number of research articles and the level of research and development (R&D) expenditures.

The GII 2012 is calculated as the average of two sub-indices and the Innovation Efficiency Index is the ratio of the two sub-indices, the Innovation Input Sub-Index gauges elements of the national economy which embodies innovative activities grouped in five pillars: (1) Institutions, (2) Human capital and research, (3) Infrastructure, (4) Market sophistication, and (5) Business sophistication. The Innovation Output Sub-Index captures actual evidence of innovation results, divided in two pillars: (6) Knowledge and technology outputs and (7) Creative outputs.

This year the GII innovates in two ways: First, for the first time, the GII includes a detailed analysis of the underlying factors influencing year-on-year changes in rankings. Second, the strengths/weaknesses of each economy are identified in the country profiles.

Moreover, while the GII report is a year over year performance assessment, it seeks to update/improve the way innovation is measured. For example, this year the Infrastructure pillar was reorganized to single out ecological sustainability in a new sub-pillar. In addition, online creativity was added to the ranking, including data on generic and country-code top level Internet domains, and also drawing on data from Wikipedia and YouTube.

The Report includes ten analytical chapters contributed by knowledge partners, Advisory Board members, and Google (by special invitation) to expose recent global innovation trends that can hardly be captured by traditional metrics. Four chapters are case studies on the Gulf Cooperation Council, Saudi Arabia, India, and the Russian Federation.

Source:http://www.wipo.int/pressroom/en/articles/2012/article_0014.html

How business uses social technologies

McKinsey’s fifth annual survey on social tools and technologies shows that when integrated into the daily work of employees and adopted on a large scale throughout a new kind of business—the networked enterprise—they can improve operations, financial performance, and market share. These new platforms have already reached critical scale at the organizations in our survey: 72 percent of the respondents report that their companies use at least one, and upward of 40 percent specify that they’re using social networks and blogs. To learn more, read “How social technologies are extending the organization” (November 2011).

Source: http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/newsletters/chartfocus/2012_05.html

IMD announces its 2012 World Competitiveness Rankings

Top 3 are Hong Kong, US and Switzerland

US competitiveness remains the key to global recovery

IMD today announced the findings of its annual World Competitiveness Yearbook (WCY). The WCY rankings measure how well countries manage their economic and human resources to increase their prosperity.

The most competitive of the 59 ranked economies in 2012 are Hong Kong, the US and Switzerland (see overall rankings table below). Despite all its setbacks, the US remains at the center of world competitiveness because of its unique economic power, the dynamism of its enterprises and its capacity for innovation.

“US competitiveness has a deep impact on the rest of the world because it is uniquely interacting with every economy, advanced or emerging. No other nation can exercise such a strong “pull effect” on the world. Europe is burdened with austerity and fragmented political leadership and is hardly a credible substitute, while a South-South bloc of emerging markets is still a work in progress. In the end, if the US competes, the world succeeds!” said Professor Stephane Garelli, director of IMD’s World Competitiveness Center.

The most competitive nations in Europe are Switzerland (3), Sweden (5) and Germany (9), which have export-oriented manufacturing and fiscal discipline. Meanwhile, Ireland (20), Iceland (26) and Italy (40) look better equipped to bounce back than Spain (39), Portugal (41) and Greece (58), which continue to scare investors.

Emerging economies are not yet immune to turmoil elsewhere. China (23), India (35) and Brazil (46) have all slipped in the rankings, while Russia (48) climbed only one place. All Asian economies have declined apart from Hong Kong (1), Malaysia (14) and Korea (22). Latin America also had a tough year, with every nation falling except Mexico (37).

Globalization and economic reform under threat

One-third of the 329 ranking criteria come from an exclusive IMD survey of more than 4,200 international executives, which reveals a growing skepticism in some of the 59 economies toward globalization and the need for economic reforms (see charts).

Globalization is still seen as a positive development in Ireland, Scandinavia, Chile, the UAE and many Asian economies. But attitudes are much more negative in Greece, Russia, most of Eastern Europe, a growing part of Latin America, and, last of all, in France.

Attitudes toward reforms are more positive in Ireland, emerging Asia, Qatar and the UAE, Switzerland and Sweden. But the impetus for reform is much weaker in Argentina, the Czech Republic, Spain, and lastly – again – in France, where austerity is seen as a cure worse than the disease.

“The recession has made the world economy more fragmented and diverse than ever, forcing companies to operate several parallel business models,” said Professor Garelli. “Emerging economies are relying on domestic demand and national champion companies to insulate themselves from economic turmoil, while the “submerging” developed economies are turning to re-industrialization. In both cases, economic nationalism is back and protectionism is tempting.”

WCY 2012 overall ranking

Source: http://www.imd.org/news/IMD-announces-its-2012-World-Competitiveness-Rankings.cfm

The 100 Most Creative People in Business 2012


By Fast Company

Welcome to our annual celebration of business innovators who dare to think differently. They’re the ones taking risks and discovering surprising new solutions to old problems. This year, they tell you exactly how they do what they do. Click on their names in the list below to find advice and read about their career milestones.

  1. Ma Jun

    Director, Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs

  2. Rebecca Van Dyck

    Head of Consumer Marketing, Facebook

  3. Adam Brotman

    Chief Digital Officer, Starbucks

  4. Ron Johnson

    CEO, JCPenney

  5. CeeLo Green

    Entertainer

  6. Leslie Berland

    SVP, Digital Partnerships and Development, American Express

  7. Stefan Olander

    VP, Digital Sport, Nike

  8. Ben Horowitz

    Cofounder, Andreessen Horowitz

  9. Garet Hil

    Founder, National Kidney Registry

  10. Maelle Gavet

    CEO, Ozon Holdings

  11. Jeremy Heimans

    Founder, Purpose

  12. Rosario Dawson & Maria Teresa Kumar

    Founders, Voto Latino

  13. Marci Harris

    Founder, Popvox

  14. Steven Zeitels

    Director, MGH’s Center for Laryngeal Surgery and Voice Rehabilitation

  15. Roy Price

    Director, Amazon Studios

  16. Laura Mather

    Cofounder, Chief Strategy Officer, Silver Tail Systems

  17. Jessica Alba

    Cofounder, The Honest Company

  18. Michael Karnjanaprakorn

    Founder, Skillshare

  19. Anka Mulder

    President, OpenCourseWare Consortium

  20. Steve Lee

    Product Management Director, Google [X]

  21. Claire Diaz-Ortiz

    Manager of Social Innovation, Twitter

  22. Matthew Schmidt

    Assistant Professor, Political Science, School of Advanced Military Studies

  23. Sarah Robb O’Hagan

    President, Gatorade

  24. Miriah Meyer

    Computer Scientist, University of Utah

  25. Janet Iwasa

    Molecular Animator, Harvard University

  26. Nina Tandon

    Research Scientist, Columbia University

  27. Andrew Yang

    Founder, Venture For America

  28. Wes Anderson

    Director, Moonrise Kingdom

  29. Ben Smith

    Editor, BuzzFeed

  30. Leila Takayama

    Research Scientist, Willow Garage

  31. Kin Ying Lee

    Head Designer, Madewell

  32. Marvin Ammori

    Lawyer, The Ammori Group

  33. Ken Parks

    Chief Content Officer, Spotify

  34. Diébédo Francis Kéré

    Architect, Kéré Architecture

  35. Jeff Charney

    CMO, Progressive Insurance

  36. Björk

    Musician

  37. Abanti Sankaranarayanan

    Deputy Managing Director for India, Diageo

  38. Yael Cohen

    Founder, Fuck Cancer

  39. Tim Schafer

    Founder, Double Fine Productions

  40. Executive Vice President, EA Sports

  41. Chelsea Howe

    Director of Design, SuperBetter Labs

  42. Leah Busque

    Founder, TaskRabbit

  43. Jimmy Smith

    Chairman, CEO, Chief Creative Officer, Amusement Park Entertainment

  44. Deborah Borda

    CEO, Los Angeles Philharmonic

  45. Bruktawit Tigabu

    Founder and Director, Whiz Kids Workshop

  46. Ross Martin

    Executive VP, MTV Scratch

  47. Masashi Kawamura

    Cofounder, Creative Director, Party

  48. Lourenço Bustani

    Founder, CEO, Mandalah

  49. Neil deGrasse Tyson

    Host, PBS’s “Cosmos” and Radio Show “StarTalk”

  50. Bradford Shellhammer

    Cofounder, Chief Creative Officer, Fab

  51. Maria Popova

    Editor, BrainPickings.org

  52. Eddie Opara

    Partner, Pentagram

  53. Anand Rajaraman & Venky Harinarayan

    Coheads, WalmartLabs

  54. Flavio Pripas & Renato Steinberg

    Cofounders, Fashion.me

  55. Thomas Tull

    Founder, Chairman, CEO, Legendary Entertainment

  56. Rachael Chong

    Founder, CEO, Catchafire

  57. Cyrus Massoumi

    Cofounder, CEO, ZocDoc

  58. T.J. Miller

    Actor, Comedian

  59. Julie Klausner

    Comedy Writer

  60. Steve Porter

    Viral Video Producer

  61. Robin Guenther

    Principal, Perkins + Will

  62. Ron J. Williams

    CEO, Cofounder, Knodes

  63. Shara Senderoff

    Cofounder, CEO, Intern Sushi

  64. Tony Haile

    CEO, Chartbeat

  65. Olajide Williams

    Founder, President, Hip Hop Public Health

  66. Danny Trinh

    Designer, Path

  67. Lee Linden

    Cofounder, CEO, Karma

  68. Andrew Hsu

    Founder, Airy Labs

  69. Nadine Chahine

    Type Designer, Linotype, Monotype Imaging

  70. Ren Ng

    Founder, CEO, Lytro

  71. Glenn Rink

    Founder, AbTech Industries

  72. Jared Leto

    Entrepreneur/Musician

  73. Hannah Choi Granade

    President, Advantix Systems U.S.A.

  74. Shaquille O’Neal

    Analyst, NBA on TNT/NBATV

  75. Ethan Marcotte

    Freelance Web Designer

  76. Mike Simonian & Maaike Evers

    Designers, Mike and Maaike

  77. Alex Rainert

    Head of Product, Foursquare

  78. Aslaug Magnusdottir

    Cofounder, CEO, Moda Operandi

  79. Rick Barrack

    Chief Creative Officer, CBX

  80. Rachel Shechtman

    Founder, Story

  81. Jeff Fong

    Design Lead for Windows Phone, Microsoft

  82. Cindy Au

    Community Director, Kickstarter

  83. Chris Milk

    Director/Artist

  84. Elvis Chau

    Executive Creative Director, JWT Shanghai

  85. Greg Gunn

    Entrepreneur in Residence, City Light Capital

  86. Sam Mogannam

    Owner, Bi-Rite Market

  87. Aziz Ansari

    Comedian, Actor

  88. Rufus Griscom

    Cofounder, General Manager, Babble Media

  89. Vivi Zigler

    President, Digital Entertainment, NBCUniversal

  90. Marcus Samuelsson

    Chef, Owner, Red Rooster

  91. Kibwe Tavares

    Cofounder, Factory Fifteen

  92. Neil Blumenthal

    Cofounder, Warby Parker

  93. Pamela Love

    Founder, Pamela Love N.Y.C.

  94. Jerri Chou

    Founder, The Feast Social Innovation Conference

  95. Carrie Brownstein

    Writer, Actor, Portlandia

  96. Tal Dehtiar

    Founder, Oliberte Footwear

  97. Carla Schmitzberger

    President, Havaianas

  98. Edwin Neo

    Founding Partner, Ed Et Al Shoemakers

  99. Celestine Maddy

    Founder, Wilder

  100. Sally Grimes

    Global Vice President, Sharpie

Source:http://www.fastcompany.com/most-creative-people/2012

IT Innovations Dominate 2012′s ‘Great Eight’ Business Plans

Since launching around the height of the dot.com bubble of the early 2000s, Wharton’s Business Plan Competition has seen ever increasing diversity in entries from student entrepreneurs. This year, a big theme was IT solutions for business problems, especially in the health care field. Finalists’ plans focused on software to connect hospitals with patients in rural areas, a program to identify patients at high-risk for readmission to a hospital and a professional social networking site for physicians. In non-health care entries, contestants presented ideas related to areas such as online marketing and education.

The BPC has been a popular competition among students at the University of Pennsylvania since it was established 14 years ago. This year, it saw a record level of participation, with more than 150 ideas submitted to the competitive phase — a 30% jump in participation over 2011. During the course of the year, ideas were narrowed down by a broader group of judges until the “great eight” remained to participate in the Venture Finals on April 25.

Presenting their plans before an audience of venture capitalists, business leaders, faculty and students, the eight finalists fielded questions from four judges on aspects of their plans such as revenue models, intellectual property and the competitive landscape. The judges included representatives from Alara Capital, Karlin Asset Management, Compass Partners and Spark Capital.

The team judged to have the most viable business plan was named the first-place winner and received the $30,000 Michelson Grand Prize. The second-place winner received $15,000 and the third-place winner received $10,000. In addition, audience members voted to decide on the winner of the $3,000 People’s Choice Award and students voted (a week prior to the event) on the winner of a $3,000 Students’ Choice Award.

See if you can pick the top winners by reading the summaries of the business plans below. The results are listed at the end of the article. Don’t peek.

Bounce Exchange: If a website can predict the exact second when a visitor will leave or “bounce” off its site, it could quickly offer that visitor more relevant content to try to continue engagement with the site. Sites could even use that moment to flash a large online ad just before the visitor leaves. Wharton second-year MBA student Cole Sharp explained how Bounce Exchange will enable sites to do these things with patented technology that combines invisible JavaScript receptors, mouse gestures and acceleration.

According to Sharp and team member Ryan Urban, it is problematic for sites to have visitors simply “peek in the door for 30 seconds and then leave.” As a result, digital ad units are losing value, and ad space is in greater supply than demand. However, Sharp and Urban maintain that larger ads shown at the moment before a bounce have a higher click through rate compared to typical banner ads. With low operating costs, a fully developed product and an easily installed program, the team predicts more than $750,000 in revenues by the end of 2012 through a revenue-sharing model.

Calcula: Despite 2,500 years of medical advancement, one disease specifically mentioned in ancient versions of the Hippocratic Oath still burdens our society today: kidney stones. Team leader Evan Werlin, a medical student at the University of Pennsylvania, explained that in the U.S. each year, there are two billion patients with kidney stones, which leads to 1.1 million emergency room visits, five million missed work days, and nearly $6 billion in costs to the country’s health care system. In addition, guidelines stipulate that current therapies are only used for stones larger than 10mm, leaving 85% of patients untreated for this painful disease. Calcula plans to address that problem using a newly developed catheter device to remove those smaller stones without anesthesia in a doctor’s office in 15 minutes.

Werlin and his team discussed how the device, which costs $275, could be used to help this “huge market” of currently untreated patients. With three provisional patents filed and an existing reimbursement code in place for insurers, the group estimates that there is a $400-million a year market in the U.S. Adding the European Union, the market exceeds $1 billion a year.

ChondroPro BioSciences: Osteoarthritis is a disease that affects one in two Americans at some point in their lives, and it is becoming more prevalent as the population ages, according to team leader Jamil Beg, a Wharton second-year MBA student. This adds up to an enormous cost for the U.S. health care system — around $850 billion a year in direct and indirect costs. Current treatment options for knee osteoarthritis don’t address the cause of the disease, but instead treat the symptoms with pain killers and cortisone injections. In severe cases, doctors resort to knee replacement surgery.

ChondroPro BioSciences is focused on a disease-modifying therapeutic technology to treat the disease. Its drug would be injected directly into the knee to prolong the time before joint replacement is required or to completely prevent that procedure. With each knee treatment costing $1,200 and an established reimbursement framework, the team predicts peak sales of $2.5 billion by 2025.

Grand Round Table: While there have been amazing medical advances in recent years, such as the dramatic prolonging of life for HIV patients, it still takes considerable time for medical discoveries to make it into clinical practice, according to team member Eric King. To speed up the process of knowledge sharing among physicians, King and team leader Kristy Leong, a Wharton first-year MBA student, explained how Grand Round Table will provide a professional social networking platform for physicians.

The goal is to share medical knowledge in secure round table discussions organized by topic, and also to aggregate and organize information. By charging membership fees for premium access, as well as offering advertising opportunities on the site, the team estimates that potential revenues could reach $550 million. They added that they have a patent pending and plan to launch the product in the fall.

Graphene Frontiers: Graphene is stronger than a diamond, more conductive than copper and you can see right through it. The substance, which is made by chemically processing graphite (the source of “lead” in pencils), has been described as the “miracle material of the 21st century,” according to team leader Mike Patterson, who is a second-year Wharton executive MBA student. However, it is currently very difficult to make. Graphene Frontiers plans to use a unique atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition process to enable high-quality, low-cost production at industrial scale.

Patterson explained that graphene manufacturing presents a multi-billion dollar market because it could be used in a diversity of products, such as flexible circuits, solar cells for rooftops, and touch screens. Several companies are now testing the startup’s materials, and its technology is available for licensing. Graphene Frontiers was selected by the National Science Foundation as a recipient of its NSF Innovation Corps Awards.

1DocWay: Going to see a doctor is time consuming. In addition to making the appointment and driving to the office, there is often paperwork and a long wait. That process is even more challenging for the 50 million Americans who live more than 60 miles away from a specialty physician as well as the elderly and disabled. 1DocWay seeks to improve that process by providing what it calls an “online doctor’s office” to connect hospitals with underserved patient populations. Using a secure video chat platform, the company helps hospitals expand their services and increase their referral bases while increasing access to specialists.

The company is currently focused on psychiatry services delivered to rural areas, estimating that more than 85% of those outpatient visits could be conducted online and are reimbursable for most major insurance payers, according to team leader Samir Malik, a Wharton first-year MBA student. He added that the telemedicine market is expected to reach $27 billion by 2016.

Malik spent last summer developing the business at Dreamit Ventures in New York. So far, he has created partnerships with clinics and facilitated 330 consultations, resulting in four inpatient referrals. The company also is a member of Wharton’s Venture Initiation Program.

QMagico: There are 40 million kindergarten through 12th grade students in Brazil, but most of them don’t have access to the education they need, said team leader Claudia Massei, a Wharton second-year MBA student. At the same time, an increasing number of young people now have access to the Internet, especially as the government has invested in equipping Brazilian schools with computers. QMagico seeks to utilize kids’ access to the Internet by providing high-quality academic content that would complement classroom learning. In addition to videos, the QMagico site contains interactive exercises, individualized performance reports and a crowd sourcing platform to enable students living in different regions to connect with each other.

Some of the site’s content is free, but premium content is available only with a monthly subscription at a low price. A beta version is launching soon with more than 1,000 users. Targeting 50,000 users by the end of this year, the venture predicts it will have 900,000 users by the end of 2015. Massei noted that the e-learning market in Brazil is growing at a rate of 15% per year and will soon represent a market worth $15 billion.

RightCare Solutions: When two patients are admitted to a hospital today, there is no way to know which one has the higher risk for being readmitted within 30 days of discharge. Since hospitals are not reimbursed for patient readmissions within that time period — and can even face financial penalties for readmissions — the situation presents a challenge for hospitals. Indeed, this is a $30-billion problem in the U.S., according to team leader Eric Heil, a Wharton second-year executive MBA student.

Based on research by Kathy Bowles of the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, an expert in the field of discharge planning and transitional care, RightCare Solutions offers a software program that can help identify which patients are at high risk for readmission. The evidence-based decision tool is used by nurses at the point of admission to identify those patients, allowing caregivers to focus on their medical needs and coordinate follow-up care to reduce the chances of readmission. The company has completed its first case study at a major hospital where it showed a significant reduction in 30-day readmissions when the tool was used.

The venture was recently selected as a top three finalist in the Janssen Connected Care Challenge and was one of the top 30 university startups in the U.S. selected to present at the University Research and Entrepreneurship Symposium in Boston, Mass.

And the Winner Is …

RightCare Solutions won the Michelson Grand Prize. Second place was awarded to 1DocWay, and third place was awarded to Calcula. The People’s Choice Award went to ChondroPro BioSciences and the Students’ Choice Award went to QMagico.

RightCare Solutions includes three second-year students in Wharton’s MBA Program for Executives in Philadelphia. After Heil, a venture capital associate at Domain Associates, pitched the idea in a Wharton Venture course, he was joined by classmates Matt Tanzer, an associate director at Shire Pharmaceuticals, and Mrinal Bhasker, vice president of technology and principal at Audacious Inquiry.

Heil says that the team’s next steps involve completing financing, hiring several full-time employees and installing their product at three to four major institutions. The business will be based in the suburbs of Philadelphia.

Malik noted that 1DocWay is currently earning $6,000 a month in revenue and all of the founders are working full-time on the venture. Their immediate goals are to sign on additional hospitals as clients, build a well-rounded advisory board that spans health care technology and startups, and possibly move the business to New York City because of its “strong and supportive environment for early-stage entrepreneurs.”

As for Calcula, Werlin says that his team has been approached by several people about potential investments in the company. In addition to seeking funding, the team is looking to establish efficacy in an animal study before establishing efficacy and safety in a human study. Some of the members plan to pursue the venture full-time in the San Francisco Bay Area. However, Werlin is a rising fourth-year medical student and is committed to continuing his medical training.

If history is any indicator, the BPC winners are off to a good start. The competition has helped launch many successful businesses. Recent examples include Stylitics, which won the grand prize last year and was a “The Next Big Thing in Tech” nominee for the Fashion 2.0 Awards, Baby.com.br, which won third place last year and was named a top-10 startup in Brazil by Business Insider and is the largest e-commerce retailer in the baby space in Brazil, and Warby Parker, which was a semifinalist in the 2009 competition, and continues to disrupt the eyeglasses industry by offering fashionable glasses online at discount prices.

Source: http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=2990