Friday 10 July 2009
The AIC Facilitates TechClinic on Waste Management for Sustainable Marine Tourism Operators
The Australian Institute for Commercialisation (AIC) in conjunction with the R&D Branch of the Queensland Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation�held a Technology Clinic (TechClinic) in
This TechClinic was an invitation-only event which enabled interaction between key stakeholders concerned with the research, development, regulation and implementation of waste management solutions for boat operators in a world heritage marine environment. These stakeholders included researchers, government regulatory bodies, local and state government agencies, commercial service providers for the marine industry and tourism boat operators.�
The intended benefits for the participants were:
-
��������� An increased understanding of the opportunities and the pathways� to develop and utilise new technology�in onboard waste management
-
��������� Increased collaborative opportunities between stakeholders in the sustainable marine tourism industry
-
��������� Enhanced ability for end-users to access new research and technology developments.
�
What are TechClinics?
TechClinics are initiatives operated by innovation support organisations such as the AIC to assist the development of innovation and technology in SMEs. �They are an activity implemented to reach agreement on a series of priorities to enable the development of SMEs and usually cover one or more of the following broad objectives: technology problem solving, technology intelligence gathering and technology transfer.
This predominantly occurs through the pre-selection of an issue which is strategically important for a firm, or a group of firms in a networked value chain. �The technology clinic activity supports participants to understand the issue and implement responses from within their organisations and firms.
Stimulating technology receptiveness between the research community, government, end-users and SMEs, are expected clinic outcomes that will enable the participating parties to make more informed decisions and:
-
��������� Determine which R&D projects should be pursued
-
��������� Identify a long-term, flexible portfolio of R&D priorities
-
��������� Identify the appropriate parties to participate in research and commercialisation activities
-
��������� Identify the scale and resources required to undertake the research.
The Technology Clinic process is intended to provide an opportunity to reveal potential infrastructure, R&D and investment priorities, informing not only technology development needs, but also strategic planning needs for the firm more broadly.
