Let’s cut the fanfare. Most economic development agencies obsess over R&D metrics and tech startups while missing the innovations actually driving their local economy.
❌ We measure innovation by patents and university spin-offs
❌ We chase “unicorns” and science parks
❌ We ignore where 70%+ of urban jobs actually exist
Here’s what the data shows:
**𝟭. 𝗛𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀**
London’s designer fashion sector innovates through new materials and sustainable processes – not patents. Coventry’s auto-engineering cluster drives innovation through supply chain coordination and manufacturing improvements. Zero R&D spending. Massive economic impact.
**𝟮. 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻**
Your city’s banks innovated internet banking. Call centres transformed customer service delivery. Logistics companies revolutionized supply chains. None show up in traditional innovation metrics, yet they employ millions and generate billions.
**𝟯. 𝗔𝗱𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗱𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻**
Most firms don’t invent – they adopt, adapt, and implement existing technologies better than competitors. This “absorptive capacity” drives more economic growth than frontier R&D in most regions.
𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩? 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘬, 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘢𝘳.
Smart economic developers recognize that innovation isn’t just about creating something new – it’s about implementation that delivers market value.
Stop chasing unicorns. Start measuring what matters. Start learning how to do local and regional economic development at http://www.economicdevelopment.world/about
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