MEI is a project for the European Commission funded by DG Research (Call FP6-2005-SSP-5A, Area B, 1.6, Task 1). MEI stands for Measuring Eco-Innovation.

Specifically, MEI offers a conceptual clarification of eco-innovation (developing a typology) based on an understanding of innovation dynamics. It will identify and discuss the main methodological challenges in developing indicators and statistics on eco-innovation and how these may be overcome.

Challenges for eco-innovation measurement to be investigated are

1. The ongoing nature (changing characteristics) of an eco-innovation
2. The novelty and importance of an innovation
3. Possibilities for combining different innovation measures (input indicators and output indicators, direct and indirect measures)
4. The aggregation of eco-innovation into meaningful categories
5. The links between different types of innovation, for instance the link between organisational innovation and technological innovation
6. The competitiveness of eco-innovation of different type

MEI will propose possible indicators for measuring relevant aspects of eco-innovation, taking into account data availability issues, and define future research needs for addressing these methodological challenges in developing eco-innovation indicators and set up guidance for the most feasible route for implementation of eco-innovation indicators on the time scale envisaged. The project will be done in collaboration with Eurostat, the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the Joint Research Center (JRC) of the European Commission.

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