When characterizing social development, concepts such as globalization, interactivity and sustainable growth are widely used. Considering the importance of these concepts for the assessment of modern development processes, it should be noted that they cannot fully characterize the new situations of economic, social, political and financial trends. A more accurate description of the new state of social development is expressed by the economic category “innovative development”. This category has found a wide place in the researches of academic economists. The evolutionary process of scientific approaches to innovation is studied in the article. The goal is to analyze the approaches to innovation activity in the current conditions and justify the author's position. Methodology - the approach of economists to the innovation process in the research work was carried out on the basis of systematic analysis. Research results - An effective innovation system will allow the state to determine its status in the system of international relations, as well as take its place in the international division of labor. Scientific innovation and originality of research - Innovation is a tool that ensures the creation of wealth by the initiative of individual innovation subjects and develops the market of intellectual assets, ensuring the flow of investments from national and foreign investors to the knowledge economy. Key words: innovation activity, evolution, process innovation, effective innovation.