A key element driving economic growth is investment in new technologies and innovations. Between 2020 and 2025, the European average expenditure on research and development (R&D) increased to 2.3% of GDP, while Poland still lags behind this average, allocating approximately 1.4% of GDP to this purpose. Although this represents an increase compared to previous years, the gap remains significant. In response to this situation, Poland has implemented an updated development policy supporting investment in research, development, and innovation implementation through public funds, both national and EU-based.

However, a key challenge in the coming years remains increasing funding from private sectors. Systemic changes are necessary, including simplifying legal regulations and administrative support to create a stable foundation for innovation development in Poland.

European Technology Transfer Network (EGTA)

The lack of sufficient investment in Poland still often leads to incomplete commercialization of innovative technological projects. Between 2020 and 2025, the European Technology Transfer Network (EGTA) played a key role in this process, supporting technology transfer among European countries. EGTA collaborates with specialized business environment institutions as well as networks of partners on other continents, enabling global knowledge and technology exchange.

EGTA’s mission is the effective exploitation and commercialization of scientific research results. By cooperating with enterprises, the organization facilitates the transfer of technology to international markets, the protection of intellectual property, patent sharing, and the implementation of innovative solutions on a large scale.

Between 2020 and 2025, the EGTA network has already included over 25 clusters, bringing together 400 enterprises and institutions from 22 European countries. Its main objectives are:

• Creating a European innovation ecosystem supporting cooperation in research, development, and technology commercialization.
• Developing new business opportunities for its members on a global scale.
• Establishing cooperation with non-European countries, creating a global technology transfer platform.

Innovation in Poland

Although Poland’s level of investment in R&D still falls short of the EU average, the Summary Innovation Index (SII) for Poland has shown growth. According to the European Commission’s “Innovation Union Scoreboard 2025” report, Poland achieved a score of 0.34, marking an improvement compared to previous years and allowing Poland to surpass other countries in the ranking, such as Lithuania and Slovakia.

Between 2020 and 2025, Polish enterprises increasingly use international patent protection. The number of patent applications to the European Patent Office (EPO) has risen to over 600 per year, while applications under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) have exceeded 450 annually. This indicates a growing awareness of intellectual property protection and an increasing commitment by Polish companies to innovation development.