› Innovation policy
Fri, 04/13/2007 - 06:09 — admin
As in most advanced capitalist economies, innovation in Australia is primarily defined narrowly as the application of scientific knowledge or radical technological change. But this is at odds with the reality of innovation, which is more likely to involve sustained, incremental improvements in products and processes, rather than technological breakthroughs. It is also likely to be driven by the need to solve customer and market problems more imaginatively than competitors. At present, government policy in Australia is biased towards increasing the supply of science and research and commercializing new ideas and inventions. It pays little attention to supporting the capacity of firms to transform and adapt their business offerings to changing market conditions and customer needs. What can be done to address this intractable bias in Australia’s innovation policy?
Recommended Reading
Australian Business Foundation. 2006a. Submission to the Productivity Commission’s Study on Public Support for Science and Innovation. Submission no. 72.
http://www.abfoundation.com.au/pdf/SubmissionProductivityCommissionScien... Australian Business Foundation. 2006b. Comments on the Productivity Commission’s Draft Research Report on Public Support for Science and Innovation. www.abfoundation.com.au/pdf/AustralianBusinessFoundationCommentsPCDraftReport21-xii-06.pdf Australian Business Foundation and Deloitte. 2006. The Reality of Innovation Unzipped: An Investigation in middle market Australia. Sydney: Australian Business Foundation and Deloitte. http://www.abfoundation.com.au/pdf/TheRealityofInnovationUnzipped.pdf Kennedy, Narelle. 2005. Australian innovation and Industry Policy Challenges – Insights from the Australian Business Foundation. Presentation to ANU Masters in Industry Policy Class, 26/x/05. http://www.abfoundation.com.au/pdf/ANUMastersIndustryPolicy26Oct2005.pdf Kennedy, Narelle. 2006a. Innovation and New Business Models. Presentation to ABL State Chamber’s Young Entrepreneurs Program, 8/xi/06. http://www.abfoundation.com.au/pdf/YoungEntrepreneurs8Nov06.pdf Kennedy, Narelle. 2006b. Are Australian Firms up to the Challenge? Presentation to Panel Discussion, Innovation Leadership Summit, Melbourne, 6/xii/06. http://www.abfoundation.com.au/pdf/Innovation%20Summit6Dec06.pdf Roos, Göran, Lisa Fernström and Oliver Gupta. 2005. National Innovation Systems: Finland, Sweden & Australia Compared. Sydney: Australian Business Foundation. http://www.abfoundation.com.au/pdf/NISRoosShortPaper22Nov05.pdf Smith, Keith. 2004. ‘The Knowledge Economy in the Australian Context’. Published in Innovation & the Knowledge Economy in Australia, 2006. Sydney: Australian Business Foundation. http://www.abfoundation.com.au/pdf/InnovationKnowledgeEconomyFull.pdf Smith, Keith. 2005. ‘Promoting Innovation in Australia: Business and Policy Issues’. Published in Innovation & the Knowledge Economy in Australia, 2006. Sydney: Australian Business Foundation. http://www.abfoundation.com.au/pdf/InnovationKnowledgeEconomyFull.pdf Smith, Keith. 2006. Innovation and Public Policy in Australia. Breakfast Briefing to Business Leaders, ABL State Chamber, 9/v/06. http://www.abfoundation.com.au/ppt/KeithSmithPresentation9May2006.ppt#25... Some external sources: ABS and DITR (Federal Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources). 2006. Patterns of Innovation in Australian Businesses 2003. Canberra: ABS and DITR. http://www.industry.gov.au/assets/documents/itrinternet/81630_2003_fromA... Burrell, Steve. 2006. ‘Innovation's not just about the propeller heads’, Sydney Morning Herald, 14/iii/06. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/03/13/1142098405820.html?page=fullpa... DEST (Federal Department of Education, Science and Training). 2005. Backing Australia’s Ability: The Australian Government’s Innovation Report 2004-05. http://backingaus.innovation.gov.au/reports/04_05/pdf/baa_innov_report.p... IBM (International Business Machines). 2006. Expanding the Innovation Horizon: Global CEO Study 2006. http://www.ibm.com/ibm/ideasfromibm/us/enterprise/mar27/ceo_study.html (Registration is required to gain access to the summary report and full document.) Livingstone, Catherine. 2006. Submission to the Productivity Commission’s Study on Public Support for Science and Innovation. Submission no. 56. http://www.pc.gov.au/study/science/subs/sub056.pdf United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). 2005. World Investment Report 2005: Transnational Corporations and the Internationalization of R&D. New York and Geneva: United Nations. Overview: http://www.unctad.org/en/docs/wir2005overview_en.pdf. Full Report: http://www.unctad.org/en/docs/wir2005_en.pdf
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