Wednesday 20 October 2010
The year in review – transforming innovation into outcomes and growth
Reflecting on the last year, the AIC has focused on transforming innovation into outcomes and growth for our clients in a wide variety of ways. Our recently published annual review highlights these outcomes and details the ways in which they were delivered:
Creating Partnerships
In 2009-10 the AIC provided collaboration advice to more than 275 businesses nationally through its TechFast, Researchers in Business and Clean Energy Innovation Centre programs. The AIC’s role was to help identify, establish, and build new partnerships for innovation.
This partnership facilitation included more than 700 introductions and led to the establishment of more than 70 new formal partnerships. The activity also resulted in 25 businesses submitting Researchers in Business (RiB) applications for funding to support new collaborations with research organisations.
Through its Clean Energy Innovation Centre (CEIC) role, the AIC facilitated four major national workshops to connect energy players together to pursue new energy storage and smart grid opportunities. It also provided facilitation support to 28 clean energy businesses to identify specific partners to meet their needs.
Commercialisation Skills
More than 20 education programs were delivered during the year, including the Ideas2Market and Commercialisation Bootcamp workshops, as well as a range of tailored Innovation Masterclasses and Pitching seminars.
The Ideas2Market program was delivered across Queensland to 169 entrepreneurs and small business owners, while our now internationally recognised Commercialisation Bootcamps reached 329 participants across Australia and Malaysia.
Policy Advocacy
During the year, a representative of the AIC participated as a member of the Queensland
Ministerial Advisory Committee for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research (DIISR), Commonwealth Commercialisation Institute Advisory Committee, the DIISR Commonwealth Consultative Group for the National Survey of Research Commercialisation, the DIISR-sponsored OECD Innovation Roundtable in Canberra, the CSIRO National Research Flagships Collaboration Fund Cluster Assessment Committee, and the Queensland Sustainable Energy Advisory Council.
The AIC gave evidence at Parliament House, Canberra to the Australian Senate Committee into the National Broadband Network, and at Parliament House, Brisbane to the Queensland Government Parliamentary Economic Development Committee, as a result of its submissions to those Committees.
The AIC submitted policy recommendations to the Australian Government Public Sector Innovation Committee and to DIISR relating to the creation of Commercialisation Australia.
The AIC was also commissioned by the Victorian Government Department of Innovation, Industry and Regional Development (DIIRD) to undertake a review of the opportunities for Victorian industry through the uptake of small technologies.
Innovation Consultancy
The AIC hosted and facilitated a range of TechClinics and R&D Forums during the year, across a wide range of sectors and topic areas including forensic science, the pineapple fresh cuts industry, social science innovation, complementary medicine, aged living and community care, biofuels, banana waste, electricity smart grid, and water extracted from coal seam gas mining.
More than 80 market research and business intelligence reports were prepared for clients including the Clean Energy Innovation Centre (CEIC), Uniquest, National ICT Australia (NICTA) and Newcastle Innovation, as well as for a range of small technology businesses.
Working with the Queensland Government, the AIC built and assisted a strong SME pipeline of more than 240 companies for Innovation Coaching as part of the Queensland-Wide Innovation Network (QWIN). AIC Innovation Coaches have also provided more than 340 referrals to other QWIN service providers.
Now in its second year, demand for the AIC’s online Inventor’s Service is steadily increasing. Inventors and entrepreneurs with a broad range of new products have utilised the free service this year. The product ideas have included medical devices, leisure products, home products, software, engineering products, building products and many other ideas.
The AIC continues to deliver innovation consultancy services internationally. For example in Malaysia numerous Commercialisation Bootcamps have been facilitated and a commercialisation framework has been implemented with the Malaysian Industry- Government Group for High Technology (MiGHT).
Further insights into the AIC’s work can be can be viewed in the 2009/10 Annual Review, available here.
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