Rapid Evidence Review No. 4: How does support given to institutional systems that promote innovation contribute to innovation in production processes in middle income countries?

• Forschungsstelle: SECO
• Projektnummer: 2026-WEQA-RER4
• Projekttitel Englisch: Rapid Evidence Review No. 4: How does support given to institutional systems that promote innovation contribute to innovation in production processes in middle income countries?

Kurzbeschreibung (Englisch)

Innovation support is increasingly used in development cooperation to strengthen the institutional systems that enable firms and economies in middle-income countries to innovate. Based on a review of 49 studies, the evidence suggests that external support can contribute to innovation, although the magnitude and directness of these effects remain uncertain. Innovation outcomes depend strongly on interacting factors such as human capital, university-industry linkages, technology transfer, the enabling policy and regulatory environment, and the capacity of innovation support centres and networks. Priorities also vary by country context: lower-middle-income countries tend to benefit particularly from strengthening knowledge absorption and technological catch-up, while upper-middle-income countries increasingly require support for knowledge creation and more advanced innovation capabilities. The review concludes that innovation support can strengthen important elements of national innovation systems, but evidence on whether donor-supported interventions ultimately lead to technological and productive innovation remains limited. Stronger outcome monitoring and more context-specific approaches are therefore needed to better understand what works, where, and under which conditions.

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