The APO Vision 2025 aims for inclusive, innovation-led productivity growth, highlighting the role of business dynamism and innovation in socioeconomic progress. Governments, policymakers, and organizations play crucial roles in shaping an environment conducive to innovation. However, there is a need for specialized knowledge and skills to effectively design and evaluate innovation policies. A lack of understanding in assessing these policies can hinder the application of essential tools and instruments to support innovation and growth strategies.

APO members can benefit from access to tailored instruments and procedures for formulating and evaluating innovation policies aligned with their unique socioeconomic development contexts. Recognizing innovation’s role in addressing economic and social challenges, the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP) organized a training course on Design and Evaluation of Innovation Policies, 23–27 October. This face-to-face course, attended by 25 participants from 15 APO member economies, was facilitated by two local resource persons from the Philippines alongside two from Germany and Thailand.

To enhance participants’ capabilities in formulating, executing, and assessing innovation policies, the course emphasized the importance of an enabling innovation ecosystem, evidence-based decision-making, and stakeholder collaboration. Participants gained insights into frameworks and metrics for monitoring and evaluating innovation policies through case studies, country paper discussions, practical policy design and evaluation sessions, and site visits for real-world application learning.

The course highlighted the varied needs of APO members in fostering innovation. The APO is committed to providing future initiatives with customized support to meet those diverse needs, equipping members with the skills and knowledge necessary to create a conducive environment for sustainable innovation and growth.