Keys to upscaling innovation

Europe and the Netherlands are at a turning point. Both the Draghi Report and the Wennink Report make clear that our challenge is not so much about developing new technologies and innovations, but especially about scaling them up and create the conditions for implementation. Research by TNO Vector shows that, despite a strong knowledge base at leading research institutes and innovative companies, the step from pilot to broad application often fails to materialise. This undermines our competitiveness, earning capacity and strategic autonomy.

Against this background, a recently published report introduces an integrated conceptual framework for upscaling. The framework explicitly shows at which different levels upscaling needs to simultaneously take place. It helps policymakers steer upscaling efforts in a more targeted and coherent way.

Upscaling: a concept with multiple meanings

The framework addresses a problem that has existed for years: in policy, the term ‘upscaling’ is often used as a catch-all concept, without clear definition or boundaries. Sometimes upscaling refers to increased production, sometimes to broader application, and sometimes to institutional ‘embedding’ – and these dimensions are frequently conflated. The TNO Vector framework therefore provides a shared language and structure that enables policymakers to better identify what exactly needs to scale up, which bottlenecks arise in the upscaling processes, and which interventions are most effective in various phase associated with upscaling. The framework is designed to be directly applicable in policy, implementation and industry practice.

Scaling framework by context and development phase

Scaling by context and development phase

The table illustrates how we approach the upscaling of innovation by distinguishing four scaling levels: product, company, industry and innovation system. For each level, we link what exactly needs to scale, which forms of growth are involved (quantitative, functional, organisational, institutional), and through which routes scaling typically occurs (growth, replication, circulation, institutionalisation). The table shows that each upscaling context has its own dynamics and therefore requires different policy interventions. In the product context, user adoption plays a key role, whereas in value chains, standardisation and integration are decisive. In innovation (eco) systems, the focus is on coherence between infrastructure, policy, talent and networks.

Turning innovation into impact

For policymakers, this conceptual framework offers a direct perspective for action. It makes clear where bottlenecks emerge in the scaling process and which interventions have the greatest impact at that moment. The framework invites a new way of working: less ad hoc customisation and more system-oriented steering focused on coherence between product, company, industry and policy, in order to enable scaling and market formation. This creates a shared basis for not only developing key technologies – from AI to energy innovations and from medical applications to industrial transformation – but actually scaling them up in the Netherlands. In short, the framework provides policymakers with the tools to turn innovation into impact, together with TNO and other partners in the ecosystem.