Abstract
The aim of the article is to present the issues related to innovation and their impact on the economic development, with particular emphasis on the problems and barriers that affect innovation processes.
The article discusses the concept of innovation and innovativeness, and the primary objective of the processes of innovation, which is the economic development. The author demonstrates the level of innovation of the Polish economy measured by the SII – the basic tool used by the European Union for their research and rankings. Additionally, the article presents the critical voices questioning the approach of the Polish innovation policy to the problem. An attempt was made to indicate another way of innovation (going beyond the scheme) and the need to customise actions with regard to the specifics of the Polish economy.
Keywords: innovation, development, economy
