Innovation Capabilities Outlook 2026: From Global Data to National Action

As part of the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) Innovation Capabilities Outlook 2026 event, Growth Lab Academic Research Director Muhammed Yildirim will participate in the panel discussion, “How to leverage big data to support strategic decisions.”

Hosted in Geneva, Switzerland (9:20 AM CEST), the panel is open to anyone wishing to join online.

Moderator:

• Guilherme de Aguiar Patriota, Ambassador, Permanent Mission of Brazil to the World Trade Organization in Geneva

Panelists:

• Julie Carlson, Director of Economic Strategy, Qualcomm, US
• Muhammed Yilidirm, Academic Research Director, Growth Lab, Harvard University
• Carsten Fink, Chief Economist, Department for Economics and Data Analytics, IES, WIPO, Geneva

At the event, WIPO will launch The Innovation Capabilities Navigator (ICO), a new interactive dashboard.

Built on the ICO 2026 dataset, developed with Harvard’s Growth Lab, the Navigator covers 193 economies and maps over 2,500 innovation capabilities across science, technology, entrepreneurship, and production.

Select any economy and instantly access:

• Its current innovation strengths and complexity profile
• How it compares regionally and globally
• Its highest-potential pathways for growth and diversification

Whether you are a national planner, a policymaker, or a researcher, the Navigator turns complex global data into clear, actionable insights.

The Innovation Capabilities Navigator will be made available to the public on July 10 and will be located here: wipo.int/innovation-capabilities