Activating National System of Innovation: introducing the concept of innovation circle in the enterprise innovation system

The National System of Innovation (NSI) is a powerful concept that has significantly influenced the science and technology policy for the last four decades. The present article re-examines the concept of NSI and suggests that it has no internal dynamics that activate NSI. With reference to the discon-nect between the production system and the innovation support system in Indian NSI (as under-scored in the Indian National Innovation Survey), the article suggests that the trigger that can activate NSI is demand from the enterprises. The focus, therefore, should be on the Enterprise System of Innovation, a micro replica of NSI. This article introduces the concept of the innovation circle as a mode of inculcating the culture of innovation within an enterprise, thereby stimulating demand and activating NSI.