The Innovation Union Scoreboard (IUS)is an instrument of the European Commission, developed under the Lisbon Strategy and revised after the adoption of the Europe2020 Strategy to provide a comparative assessment of the innovation performance of EU Member States. It follows the European Innovation Scoreboard established in 2001. Together with the Regional Innovation Scoreboard and the pilot European Public Sector Innovation Scoreboard (under development), it forms a comprehensive benchmarking and monitoring system of research and innovation trends and activities in Europe.
The most recent IUS 2013 has shown that the European Union has become more innovative but the innovation gap between countries is widening. The overall ranking within the EU remained relatively stable, with Sweden at the top, followed by Germany, Denmark and Finland. Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia are the countries that have most improved since last year. Drivers of innovation growth in the EU include SMEs and the commercialisation of innovations, together with excellent research systems.
