ABSTRACT
Formal and informal, developed and developing sectors and economies, rural and urban, agriculture and industry, innovation as outcome from either investing R&D or without, continue to exist and define all the economies in the world regardless of what economic system dominates to shape each country’s economic development trajectory. This continued fragmented economic landscape between formal and informal sectors and economies, and the continued existence of informality even within those countries that reached the formal levels present a real challenge on how best to transform the informal into the formal sectors and economy. This continued dichotomy presents a serious challenge to innovation research. There is a need to position innovation research to address these dichotomies and overcome them by promoting grounded epistemological paradigm to generate relevant and realistic approaches to undertake workable and tangible outcomes. In addition to the dichotomy of formality and informality, economic systems also are awash with persistent fluctuations, cycles, disruptions, crises that affect both human and ecological spaces. Innovation research has to address economic and social, environmental and developmental challenges. How to include the excluded and create systems of innovation that unify social, economic, environmental and developmental problems to create a wellbeing anchored trajectory for both humans and nature has remained on the intellectual agenda for a long time. There is a real gap in the innovation approach to address this challenge.
