The principles – which  promote policies that support innovation as a key driver of economic growth, job creation and broad-based opportunity – were released at a roundtable in Geneva co-hosted at the Permanent Mission to Canada and attended by senior business executives and ambassadors representing a range of countries. They respond, in part, to the challenge of the United Nations’ new Sustainable Development Goals which emphasize the role of innovation in tackling global challenges such as extreme poverty and climate change.

The paper expands upon four central principles, necessary for the creation of a supportive policy environment for innovation. In doing so, it urges policymakers to:

– Build investor confidence by encouraging dialogue between stakeholders, providing stability and good governance, investing in infrastructure and ensuring that regulatory frameworks are predictable, transparent, robust and up to date.

– Train skilled workers in a climate that promotes knowledge exchange  To achieve this, the principles highlight the need for collaboration across sectors, along with investment in educational infrastructure and public-private research programs.

– Open markets to trade and investment, noting that innovation is a global endeavor that transcends borders. The principles state that national trade and competition laws should not discriminate between domestic and foreign companies, and that national systems aimed at attracting investment should conform to international norms and take into account global competition to attract investment capital.

– Ensure adequate intellectual property (IP) systems to incentivize investment in innovation . The paper explains that effective and predictable intellectual property systems assist businesses to obtain financing for innovation, provide certainty that businesses can recoup their investments in R&D, and enable innovative ideas to be commercialized and scaled. They also help to provide security for sharing know-how between businesses and other entities in the context of collaborative innovation.

“The social, environmental, and economic challenges that we face today require innovative responses,” said ICC Secretary General John Danilovich, “Business has a key role to play in helping society meet these challenges but can only do so in an environment that supports innovation. The ICC Innovation Principles have been created with this in mind, and we hope that they will provide the foundation for a wider discussion on technological innovation between business and policymakers.”

To download the ICC Principles on Creating and Nurturing Innovation Ecosystems for High-Tech Industries, click here .