Total Innovation reveals the ways in which our most innovative firms have adapted to technological change and international competition.

Key findings

• The UK has world-leading strengths in some high-technology areas but is up against rapidly increasing international competition
• In the face of this competition, UK firms need to harness ‘total innovation’. This includes hidden innovation – that which is not measured by traditional indicators of innovation
• Innovation policy should be focused on supporting the types of innovation that contribute to business growth
• The UK needs to invest in its strategically important industries

Innovation is vital to the UK's future economic prosperity and quality of life. So it is crucial that we understand where innovation comes from, who does it, what stimulates it, and how it benefits our economy and society.

This report focuses on high-technology sectors such as aerospace and pharmaceuticals. It reveals the increasing importance of hidden innovation in these sectors, and the surprising ways in which our most innovative firms have adapted to technological change and international competition.