Vocational education institutions' role in national innovation

This article distinguishes research, the discovery of new knowledge, from innovation, which is understood to be the transformation of practice in a community or the incorporation of existing knowledge into economic activity. From a survey of roles served by vocational education institutions in a number of OECD countries the paper argues that vocational education institutions have a potentially crucial role in mediating between the creators of new knowledge, researchers and their institutions, and the users of knowledge.