Editorial: Inclusive Innovation in Developed Countries

The ambition of inclusive innovation is to make innovation relevant and beneficial to societal groups that are disadvantaged or risk becoming disadvantaged. It aims to deliver solutions to issues of social inequalities and to lock-ins in innovation pathways. Traditionally, academic research has referred to inclusive innovation in the context of developing countries, but recent work (Schillo & Robinson, 2017) in this journal provided a framework for consideration of inclusiveness in innovation in developed countries, partially as a reflection of the increasing public and policy interest, for example as expressed in the work of the OECD and policy directives in the Canadian government. The framework highlights the far-reaching implications of considering the inclusiveness of innovation along the four dimensions of “people, activities, outcomes, and governance: i) individuals and groups participating in the innovation process at all levels; ii) the types of innovation activities considered; iii) the consideration of all positive and negative outcomes of innovation (including economic, social, and environmental); and iv) the governance of innovation systems” (Schillo & Robinson, 2017). This special issue of the TIM Review builds on this work, presenting inclusive innovation considerations in concrete application contexts. The articles in this issue present balanced perspectives on innovation, offsetting the high ambitions and achievements of scientific and social advances against the backdrop of exclusion, barriers of access to employment or new technology, prejudices against social participation and technology adoption, food insecurity, costs of medical attention, and other concerns that may accompany the introduction of innovations.

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