Skills for Business Innovation Success: It’s People Who Innovate

Innovation is important to Canada’s social and economic well-being. However, Canada’s innovation track record is weak. This report looks at firm-level innovation through the lens of skills, attitudes, and behaviours, and the contribution that people make to business innovation and commercialization success. The authors conducted an extensive literature review, analyzed data from the Centre for Business Innovation’s (CBI’s) Survey on Innovation Metrics and Management, carried out in-depth interviews, and gathered input from Signal49 Research’s centres, councils, and executive networks. Based on that research, they recommend ways that businesses, governments, post-secondary institutions, and individuals can use Signal49 Research’s Innovation Skills Profile 2.0 and Commercialization Skills Profile—which encapsulate the skills individuals need in order to contribute to an organization’s innovation performance—as frameworks for dialogue and action.