This publication is a part of an ongoing series highlighting some of the results of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) sub-programme on Economic Cooperation and Integration. It provides an overview of how policymakers in the UNECE Member States seek to support innovation activities and how they try to maximize the benefits of that support for achieving higher economic growth and enhanced competitiveness. This Comparative Review also addresses such issues as the rationale for policy intervention to support intervention, the importance of setting long-term objectives, the role of innovation governance in national innovation systems and some specific aspects of the related policy mix in formulating policies targeting different components of the national innovation capacity.