The OECD Headquarters has launched a set of country strategy reports on Innovation e.g. New Zealand, South Africa, Chile and the most recent one concerns the Chinese national innovation system and policy. Launched in Beijing last August 2007, this OECD report has already been the source of many discussions in the media and amongst the different stakeholders throughout the world who were consulted.

Ahead of the full report for China, scheduled for the end of 2008, the Lecture will introduce the main findings and present the methodology followed by these reports.

How useful is such "Atlas of Science" and how can we develop it in a rapidly changing world at a time where not alone the world is turning towards Asia, but it is turning at an unprecedented and unanticipated speed?

Jean Guinet is a senior economist at OECD, Science and Technology Policy Division, where his main interests are the contribution of technological change and innovation to economic performance, and the monitoring and assessment of science, technology and innovation policy of Member countries, based on the National Innovation System framework.