Competitiveness studies comprise the study of national competitiveness, regional competitiveness, industrial competitiveness and corporate competitiveness of individual countries across the world.
For countries around the globe, strengthening their competitiveness through measures such as the development of knowledge-based society, digital economy and development of future-oriented growth engines has become essential to remain ahead in the increasingly globalized world. Recognizing this critical challenge, the Competitiveness Team focuses its activities on identifying future trends and advising enterprises and governmental agencies on policy and strategy development for strengthening competitiveness, and on conducting professional studies for the advancement of diverse core industries.
To this end, the Competitiveness Team actively engages in diverse activities including conducting studies to identify the status of national competitiveness of individual countries ("IPS National Competitiveness Research Report"),
developing a model for identification and evaluation of competitiveness of each analytical unit, engaging in advisory work and research activities to define the ideal policy direction for enhancing national, regional and industrial competitiveness, providing consulting and advisory services for development of competitiveness building strategies and plans for businesses, setting up forums (e.g., Health Care Competitiveness Forum), and awarding the most competitive local governments ("The Best Industrial Policy Award on Regional Economic Development").
Recognizing the lack of impartial theoretical backgrounds and pertinent methodologies of previous reports, the Institute for Industrial Policy Studies (IPS) and the Institute for Policy & Strategy on National Competitiveness (IPS-NaC) began publishing the "IPS National Competitiveness Research Report" in 2001, founded on new evaluation methods. The annual report provides a systematic set of national-level data on businesses and the economy that are required both in research and practice, and offers directions for strengthening national competitiveness through comparison and analysis of competitiveness of individual countries, and thus offers useful information on the source of competitiveness of individual countries and for the development of strategy for strengthening national competitiveness that will help various people in various social standings. The "IPS National Competitiveness Research Report" was presented at both the 2001 Presidential Meeting for Strengthening Industrial Competitiveness and the World Knowledge Forum 2002, suggesting measures for enhancing Korea's competitiveness. In addition to serving Korean institutions, IPS also provides consulting to foreign governments, one case in point being the development of measures for enhancing national competitiveness for the Malaysian government at the end of 2004.
The award, aimed at encouraging the sustainable development of regions, is awarded every year to local governments that have nurtured the core competency unique of the region as well as having achieved significant regional development.
Under the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy's sponsorship, IPS selects the award-winner by evaluating 16 upper-level local governments and 234 lower-level local governments across the nation through a transparent and professional evaluation process using an evaluation model for assessing the industrial policy results of local governments achieved as a result of an efficient development and systematic implementation of industrial policy plans. The award aims to contribute to the enhancement of industrial competitiveness of local governments and ultimately the strengthening of national competitiveness.
With regional competitiveness emerging as a source of national competitiveness and a unit of region as a core unit of economy, IPS conducts evaluation of more than 80 cities in Korea. The evaluation attempts to overcome the limitations of previous city competitiveness research that mainly focused on ranking the competitiveness of individual cities, and to present a strategy for building competitiveness for individual cities. The evaluation is expected to lead to the discovery and improvement of the source of competitiveness of these cities and ultimately, to contribute to promoting the sustainable development of these cities.
The Healthcare Competitiveness Forum was launched to encourage the healthcare industry to participate more actively in the era of innovation and internationalization through consistent change and competitiveness building, and also to overcome the different position of different associations related to health care. The Forum is committed to respond to environmental changes in the healthcare industry, to engage in interactive exchanges and cooperation, and to efficiently consolidate the competencies of diverse sectors within the health care industry.