Understanding User-Driven Innovation

This paper, Understanding User-Driven Innovation, is excerpted from a briefing paper which was prepared for the first meeting of the Northern Dimension Learning Forum on User-Driven Innovation (NDLF-UDI) – a project initiative of the Nordic Council of Ministers. The project aims to facilitate policymakers in the region to develop increased competencies in this field of innovation policy, as well as to support and inspire each other in defining the policy rationale and possible mechanisms to catalyze user-driven innovation. The briefing paper was prepared to provide a general overview on the area of user-driven innovation, and to provide a basis for discussion of the policy rationale. The paper was geared toward a policymaking audience and is meant to serve only as an overview on the topic and a basis for discussion, and therefore does not provide the level of depth, analysis or academic rigor that would be expected from a research document.