people out of absolute poverty.But the benefits of growth have not been evenly distributed and high levels of income inequality have risen further.' 4 Considering the BRICS countries (i.e.Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), for example, historical legacies remain dominant, such as sharp class disparities in Brazil, vulnerability of families with children in Russia, malnutrition in India, the rural-urban divide in China, and high unemployment rates in South Africa (Scerri and Lastres 2013).Recently, and as replacement for the 'expired' UN MDGs, a new set of ambitious targets has been set around the so-called 17 'Sustainable Development Goals' (SDGs) on which new challenges have been agreed upon in the framework of the UN. 5 An obvious question is what can innovation policies do to help those countries get closer to achieving them?Focusing on innovation governance 6 and public policies in emerging countries, this book aims to understand related governance failures and to explore options for alternative, more efficient approaches.We build on earlier work with a long track record of research and innovation policy in emerging countries.