This report was published by the Australian Government, Senate Economic References Committee, December 2015. It’s an excellent study of Australia’s innovation system and useful reading for anyone interested in innovation. In the report innovation is described as “ideas applied successfully”.

Professor Roy Green, Dean of the UTS Business School at the University of Technology Sydney, was the expert consultant to the Committee.

List of recommendations

Recommendation 1 paragraph 2.22

The committee recommends that the Australian Government commits to maintaining stable, coherent and effective administrative arrangements for innovation policies and programs, based on a long-term strategic framework and a target to lift investment in research and development to three per cent of GDP.

Recommendation 2 paragraph 2.32

The committee recommends the establishment of an independent government agency with a mandate to administer and coordinate innovation system policies and programs. Such a body would be responsible for maintaining a continuous and consistent approach to innovation policy across the whole of government.

Recommendation 3 paragraph 2.48

The committee recommends that the Australian Government, as part of its long-term innovation strategy, includes policy options to address the structural and strategic barriers that inhibit innovation, including: measures to enhance collaboration and the free flow of knowledge between the university system and the private sector; increasing the size of the research and development workforce employed in industry; and ensuring that public funding to support science, research and innovation is long- term, predictable and secure.

Recommendation 4 paragraph 2.57

The committee recommends that the Australian Government, working in collaboration with State and Territory governments, adopt a range of measures to support the role of local and regional innovation ecosystems.

Recommendation 5 paragraph 2.66

The committee recommends that the education system be accorded a central focus in the Australian Government’s long-term innovation strategy, thereby acknowledging the central importance of the interplay between the STEM subjects and the humanities, social sciences and creative industries.

Full report and response to recommendations:

http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Economics/Innovation_System/~/media/Committees/economics_ctte/Innovation_System/Final_Report/report.pdf

Lynn Wood

www.IdeaSpies.com