Main actors in the innovation process (R&D)

R&D is a significant (but not always essential) source of innovation. Investments in R&D help organizations search for and find new ideas and improve their capacities to absorb knowledge from external sources. R&D ranges from basic research driven by curiosity and little concern for its application, to highly practical problem-solving. In 1963, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) decided it would be useful for policy-making to have consistent international data on R&D statistics. Following a meeting in Frascati, Italy, this became known as the Frascati Manual. The OECD has also developed the Oslo Manual to guide national innovation surveys, the Canberra Manual for measuring human resources in science and technology, and a Patent Manual on the use of patent statistics