Innovation Performance and Challenges to the Bulgarian Innovation Policy

Innovation is the main driver of knowledge based growth of modern economy. That is why the improvement of innovation performance becomes a core of economic policy. On the base of benchmarking innovation performance of the Bulgarian economy using the European innovation scoreboard data the paper identifies main challenges to the national innovation policy. Among them are: to foster the overall R&D funding base; to initiate a recovery of R&D in the business enterprise sector; to strengthen the human resource base; to enhance the interactions between the actors of the science, technology and innovation system. In this respect the following questions, concerning innovation policy mix are discussed: What are the main objectives and priorities of R&D policy in the country? Is there a gap between the challenges and the main objectives and priorities? Which policy instruments are in place today aiming at affecting R&D activities in the private and in the public sector? What are the instruments outside the R&D domain which are of particular relevance to R&D activities and the development of R&D expenditures? Is there a gap between the main policy objectives and priorities, and the instruments in place? What are the most important policy instruments that affect R&D expenditures? How does the governance of the system of R&D policy instruments take place, and is there a form of co-ordination between R&D policy and policy instruments from outside the R&D domain? Is there any evidence for interactions among the policy instruments in place with respect to affect R&D expenditure?