Social development and economic growth are strongly influenced by knowledge generation and information exchange, which are key factors for competitive advantage of countries, organizations, and enterprises. New ideas and generation of knowledge and innovation are necessary for a more efficient production and solution to social problems developed by different actors or social agents. They require the integration of Drivers of Development and Innovation: major economic producers, knowledge producers, and innovation property agents. Indicators of economic growth, scientific production, and innovation generation of Brazil and Bahia State were analyzed investigating their relationships and observing, by time series, the behavior of drivers of development and innovation and their influences. It was found that that these three actors (or agents) are interdependent and interactive. For a substantial investment in scientific research and intellectual property, the economic producers must be growth-oriented to achieve strong competitive advantage. For a sustainable development of human society, a simultaneous investment in scientific research, technology, and innovations is needed with continuous active support of innovation agents.
Innovation; Knowledge transfer and diffusion; Social development; Economic growth; Drivers of innovation
