An advisory board, which will include strong private sector representation, will report to the Government on progress.
Business New Zealand said Prime Minister Helen Clark's statement yesterday could not be a substitute for getting the basics right.
Chief executive Simon Carlaw said the Government had acted positively in putting growth and innovation at the centre of its policies, but the specifics were few.
Little in Helen Clark's speech dealt with policies holding back growth, such as workplace health and safety rules, plans for the Holidays Act, paid parental leave and new local government powers.
"They are all adding to uncertainty and the cost of creating a new job for small business."
Mr Carlaw said growth was needed for small business as well as the three sectors the Government had identified.
The big challenge for the Government was fostering growth and innovation in a high-tax environment, he said.
Another challenge would be keeping the strategy from suffering the same fate as the Muldoon-era "Think Big" and the last National Government's "Bright Futures" plan.
Mr Carlaw said Helen Clark's speech had contained signs of fudging over the Kyoto Protocol.
"The language was unclear, but it indicated a more cautious approach than the previous rush to implement."
Auckland Chamber of Commerce chief executive Michael Barnett said none of the framework was new, and it delivered nothing of substance for business.
It did not address concerns over issues such as Occupational Safety and Health, changes to the Holidays Act and planned regulations that business had complained about for months.
Moves like those proposed in Australia to streamline regulation would have been welcomed here, he said.
Mr Barnett said the framework reconfirmed the goal of getting into the top half of the OECD, but set no timeframes or performance measures.
The Knowledge Wave Trust, which Helen Clark credited with playing a catalytic role in developing the framework, welcomed "the Government's stated commitment to innovation-led economic growth" but said it looked forward to more detail on timeframes and funding.
Trust director Bridget Wickham said it was good the Government had set the direction.
"The real test now will be the speed and substance of policy implementation."
Business Roundtable executive director Roger Kerr commended the Government for repeating its OECD ranking goal.
But, he said, the task required getting the basics right across a broad range of issues.
New Zealand had to do a lot more in areas like getting the tax burden down, increasing the freedom of business to operate rather than making it more difficult, and attending to issues such as high-class education and welfare dependency.
The Northern Employers and Manufacturers Association said Helen Clark's speech was welcome for its emphasis on working to achieve economic transformation and growth.
"At last the Government is getting its priorities in the right order," said association chief executive Alasdair Thompson.
But he said her speech addressed only seven of the association's 20 key growth issues.
Missing from the framework were moves such as lowering company tax, cutting Government spending as a percentage of GDP, reducing business compliance costs and improving the efficiency and effectiveness of local government.
The chairman of the of the Life Sciences Network, Dr William Rolleston, said the framework was good news for the economy.
But fine words needed to be followed by action.
He was pleased the Government was acknowledging biotechnology's growth potential, but warned that the sector was being held back by "an over-cautious regulatory environment".
The moratorium on field trials of genetically modified organisms and the lengthy research approval process were discouraging innovation.
"We don't want to lose these people and skills overseas," Dr Rolleston said.
Council of Trade Unions secretary Paul Goulter welcomed the framework, saying it recognised the way forward was a partnership between government, business, unions and the research and tertiary sectors.
The establishment of the advisory board and taskforces was welcome, he said, and unions would take part in that process.
He also welcomed the targeting of biotechnology, information and communication technology, and creative industries, saying they were "obvious choices".
Read the full reports:
Government of New Zealand
Growing an innovative New Zealand
Part 2
Herald features
Catching the knowledge wave
Global Kiwis
Proud to be a Kiwi
Our turn
The jobs challenge
Common core values
