Indonesia has recognized the importance of innovation as to strengthen national and regional economic competitiveness in the globalization era. Therefore, Indonesia is actively looking for a National Innovation System, which will be able to promote more innovation. However, Indonesia faces the challenge to build a system that answers the local environment and conditions. Consequently, efforts are needed to put the innovation activities in Indonesia on paper. This literature study is a start to identify the kinds of innovation that are done in companies in Indonesia. In addition, the innovation in universities and other public research institutions will also be collected. The third effort will look for programs, which are initiated by the government in the area of fostering innovation. The results will form a better basis to design a National Innovation System which is suitable for Indonesian characteristics. This paper aims to show the types of innovation that are necessary and important for Indonesian companies and to describe the factors needed to support those innovations. Subsequently, this research will give an important stepping stone to build a working Indonesian National Innovation System.