Introduction

Over the past 10 years the world scene has changed and major new actors have taken the stage. It is thus interesting to note that the Lisbon strategy was mainly occupied with lessons to be drawn from the relative success of the US in the ICT-based new economy and that the strategy showed little concern with the five BRICS countries. Today it is obvious that Europe needs to recognise their role both as potential competitors in world trade and as potential partners when it comes to solving major problems of economic instability and environmental sustainability. While in 2000 it seemed adequate to regard the ‘knowledge-based’ economy as reigning solely in the OECD area, this report demonstrates that it is no longer the case.

As we can see from the contributions in this volume Russia and India have impressive knowledge bases in terms of their educational level while China has expanded its investments in both higher education and research at an outstanding rate. In Brazil and South Africa government bodies increasingly apply systemic approaches to policies aimed at promoting innovation. Understanding the specific dynamics linking the knowledge base to innovation and economic performance in each of the five BRICS countries is today a prerequisite for understanding the direction in which the world economy is heading. Here the BRICS project contributes with interesting insights.