Abstract: “The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States are in the transition toward a new, knowledge-based economy. As these states diversify from a petroleum-based economy to knowledge-based industries, the countries’ competitiveness and performance increasingly will depend on their abilities to foster an indigenous capacity for technological innovation. This paper presents a broad framework for a national innovation ecosystem (NIE) within each state separately which involves all economic, political and social institutions affecting learning, searching and exploring activities”

Keywords: innovation, knowledge-based economy, economic development, national innovation ecosystem