Distributed Innovation Processes and the Uneven Growth Of Medical Knowledge

Professor J S Metcalfe, University of Manchester Mr Andrew James, University of Manchester Dr Andrew McMeekin, University of Manchester The principal aim of this project was to understand the nature of the apparently uneven growth of innovation and practice in medicine by comparing and contrasting developments in two areas (cardiology and ophthalmology) and across two medical systems (the UK and US). We hoped to increase understanding of the innovation process in this part of the service economy, to research into the interdependence between the growth of knowledge and the emergence of innovation systems, and to provide an empirical assessment of recent developments in innovation research, particularly in relation to co-evolutionary approaches to the development of knowledge and institutions.