First steps towards a consistent classification of innovation

The Frascati and Oslo manuals assemble scientific activities, technological activities and their definitions in generic manner, without attempting to propose a rigorous and cogent organization of the categories. Such uncertainties could possibly be overcome by an attempt to formulate a coherent, holistic classification, retracing the indications of previous scholars concerning the broader characteristics of scientific discovery and tech- nological innovation. From such an attempt, we gather the lesson that scholars of tech- nological innovation and scientific progress must at all times be ready to reopen debate on the assertions that they have thus far formulated.