Framework for Assessment of Societal Impact of Innovation: A Case of Transport and Mobility Sector

A slow-down in economic performance of various countries created a huge attention in seeking the solutions and new sources of growth that can improve the GDP growth. These include the role of science, technology and innovation. However, there is also a recognition that innovation can be used for improvement of society in terms of health, education, mobility, food security, water security, security, etc. While there is a plethora of frameworks that deal with research, technology and innovation assessment for economic impact, there is still a knowledge gap regarding the impact on society. The challenges include the absence of common assessment framework and in some cases the lack of comparable indicators. A framework for assessment of innovation for social impact is proposed in this paper by identifying internationally comparable social indicators. Through citation analysis of scientific publications, the identified societal issues are then mapped to the science, technology and innovation activities. A transport and mobility sector is used as a case study. Both transport and mobility have great influence on the societal dynamics and quality of life.