CROATIAN INNOVATION POLICY: BETWEEN OLD AND NEW PARADIGMS

The concepts of innovation systems and policies developed within the industrial society are currently facing a crisis as they have proven ineffective in addressing contemporary socio-economic challenges, both in theory and in practice. Furthermore, Croatia is experiencing an economic decline in comparison to the new members of the European Union, which raises questions about the future direction of its innovation policy. The objective of this research is to explain the novel concepts of innovation policies, specifically transformative innovation policies (TIP) and mission-oriented innovation policies (IPsM) which are designed to facilitate the transition of socio-technical systems and techno-economic paradigms. The research will also examine their relevance within the Croatian innovation system and their representation as transf ormative initiatives within the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NPOO). The research suggests that the smart specialization strategy that dominates in innovation policy should be complemented with the methods of TIP and IPsM. This is especially important due to the limited transformative potential of NPOO, as only three investments out of a total of 146 have been identified with the potential to transform socio-technical systems.