Public attention is increasingly focusing on the role played by product and process innovation in the economic development of modern nations. There have been many studies of national innovation systems, regional and local innovation systems, and technological and sectoral systems. There have been innovation surveys and efforts concentrating on measuring the effectiveness of different innovation systems. The ‘system’ debate has distracted attention from the search for policy mechanisms to encourage development in a more specific manner. The approach developed in this paper enables the analyst to both hone in on the general dynamics of industrial change as they relate to particular situations and to highlight the points that may need public or private action if a country, region or locality is to maximise the efficiency of the players in its national, regional or local innovation systems, or indeed its sectoral ones.