Innovating for the health of all: Global Forum update on research for health, volume 6

This report focuses on incentives that drive innovation. For new technologies, people are generally familiar with ‘push’ and ‘pull’ incentives. Push incentives include public funding for research and tax breaks for private sector research and development; pull incentives include intellectual property, private markets, public procurement and prizes for innovation. However, for social innovation, they are in a less familiar territory. Funding social science research, social entrepreneurship and leadership training, and knowledge translation platforms can all be seen as ‘push’ incentives for social innovation. Similarly, aid support for health services, increasing civil society and community participation, educating policymakers on the value of evidence to inform policy decisions, new information and communications technologies and prizes can be seen as ‘pull’ incentives. The report argues that technological innovation brings little benefit unless it is linked to social innovation.