The project aims at providing EU policy-makers, academia, and other institutional and economic actors with robust empirical scientific-sound evidence and analysis on the contribution of private-sector R&D to sustainable competitiveness and "prosperity" in the EU.
“In January 2019 the JRC started a novel institutional activity to use the data-driven approach and diagnostic tools offered by the Economic Complexity framework to help addressing policy relevant challenges in territorial development and industrial innovation and competitiveness. Economic Complexity is a natural continuation of earlier evolutionary, development. and institutional economics. It interprets the economy as an interconnected ecosystem by shifting the focus from aggregate quantities - like the Gross Domestic Product, that reveal how much countries or regions produce - to a more granular view on what they actually do (e.g., which products they export, or in which technologies they innovate). This approach leverages high-quality trade and patent data as well as advanced techniques from machine learning, network science, and complex dynamical systems to provide a nuanced understanding of a country's economic sophistication and capabilities. By doing so, it allows to address quantitatively research questions that are traditionally tackled either qualitatively or with ad hoc quantitative measures, therefore lacking generalisation or replicability. The focus is to provide highly relevant inputs, which complement the more conventional analyses on competitiveness and innovation across the JRC.
Led by Unit B6 (Industrial Strategy, Skills and Technology Transfer) and in collaboration with Unit B5 (Circular Economy and Sustainable Industry), today this activity analyses competitiveness and innovation under the perspective of Economic Complexity, addressing questions policy relevance from three angles:
These areas are closely intertwined via the necessary resources (data, algorithms, techniques) and outputs: industry is a central part of the innovation system, and it is at the same time a driver and an outcome of innovation, which is crucial to deliver economic growth while setting Europe on a low-carbon transition”
Infographics
Workshops
For each of the county members of the European Union we provide a factsheet to inform policy about country and regional innovation and industrial capabilities in specific sectors.
The project contains one annual workshop in order to validate and exchange between the scientific community and our activities.
Green Complexity
The characteristics of the Economic complexity framework make it potentially especially powerful in addressing the challenges of Europe’s Green Deal.
14 May 2026 | 15 May 2026
