Medellín continues to advance in its consolidation as a Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) District, and in order to keep growing strategically, it is essential to understand how the city is innovating. The Innovation Survey is the tool that will gather key information to guide public policies, support programs, and projects that boost the competitiveness of Medellín and its Metropolitan Area. This assessment seeks to answer fundamental questions: How much are we investing in innovation? How prepared are we for the challenges of digital transformation and sustainability? How is our ecosystem collaborating?
This year, the survey introduces significant changes, closing the cycle of the previous STI Plan and establishing a baseline for a new measurement model aligned with national and international innovation standards. In addition to traditional indicators—such as investment in research and development and in science, technology, and innovation activities—by 2025 the survey aims to measure aspects such as funding sources for STI, access to tax benefits, main barriers to investment, innovation outcomes, employment, and stability conditions. This will provide a more comprehensive picture of the current state of the city’s ecosystem.
The survey is conducted by the Colombian Observatory of Science and Technology and is aimed at companies, research centers, higher education institutions, and public entities within the municipalities of the Aburrá Valley. Selection is random and participation is voluntary but highly strategic: the more voices join in, the more representative the diagnosis will be and the more accurate the decisions taken within Medellín’s District will become.
The benefits of participating include: each organization will be recognized as an active actor of the District, will contribute to the design of programs and public policies better aligned with the reality of the territory and the needs of each sector, and will gain access to consolidated sectoral reports and information that will facilitate decision-making and the identification of growth opportunities. Medellín has shown that innovation is a driver of social and economic transformation; now it is time for all of us to measure ourselves.
If you have any questions, you can contact our team by emailing centrodepensamiento@rutanmedellin.org.