This study first contextualizes and then examines the innovation initiatives currently being undertaken by the states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The data presented are a qualitative analysis based on government planning documents from GCC members, which is followed by an assessment of innovation in the GCC using a composite index (Global Innovation Index) and an individual indicator. The pathways toward innovation in the GCC are traced at local policy‐making levels, but giving meaning to the quantification of these efforts and their results is confounded by the fact that innovation can be an inexact concept with imprecise measurements. This overview of innovation in the GCC shows how it is being conceptualized and executed as statecraft; however, innovation might be better gauged for the GCC if indigenous socioeconomic conditions—like the welfare models and disproportionate public and service sectors—can be taken into account.