Significant Improvement but Also Missed Opportunities: Slovenian Innovation Policy from 2004 to 2024

Slovenia has applied several EU research and development (R&D) and innovation policies to its R&D system. This article provides an overview of the evolution of R&D and innovation policies, the institutional setup, key innovation policy measures, and basic R&D and innovation indicators. It offers an assessment of the suitability of policies, suggesting where Slovenia has benefited from EU policies and those of other member states. However, importing solutions from more innovation-intensive environments was not always optimal. On the one hand, Slovenia needs to be more innovative in its own policy solutions, and, on the other hand, it also needs to provide certain stability and predictability in terms of research, development, and innovation policy.