The Australian Institute for Commercialisation Innovation Coaching program is a joint initiative with the Queensland government Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation (DEEDI). The program which is part of the Queensland Wide Innovation Network (QWIN) assists SMEs to access a range of innovation services and innovation support programs.  

The Innovation Coaching program provides the following benefits:

à      Assisting coaching clients to help them identify the best opportunities and solutions for their specific needs 

à      Mentoring by providing the client with a wealth of experience gained by the AIC in working with hundreds of clients 

à      Referrals through AIC extensive networks so that the client has access to the best expertise.

Innovation coaches located in Cairns , Brisbane and the Gold Coast work with DEEDI regional offices to identify SMEs that could benefit from innovation coaching.  The Innovation Coaches in conjunction with regional officers have established a pipeline of SMEs consisting of over 70 companies. These companies vary in their readiness for innovation coaching. Companies that are not ready for innovation coaching have been referred to other programs that can best service their needs. The innovation coaches have provided over 30 referrals to other service providers within Q-WIN.

The target clients for this pilot program will be small to medium enterprises (SMEs), or clusters of SMEs that satisfy the following criteria:

à      Are within Queensland Government priority industry sectors (either State-wide priority sectors or Regional Centre of Enterprise (CoE) priority sectors)

à      Are in a growth or improvement phase of development

à      Require innovation to realise the growth or improvement

à      Will provide spill-over to other industry players

à      Will be at least 50% regional.

View the Innovation Coaching program factsheet