Research and development (R&D) by small companies is thriving, providing positive news for Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s drive for businesses to be more innovative in the post-mining boom. To elaborate, new findings in the federal budget papers reveal that small companies spend proportionally more of their revenues on research and development than large ones. In specific, companies with turnover of less than $20 million are the key attributors to the surge in R&D spending in Australia. The federal budget further forecasts that […]
Undeniably, research and development occurs in universities and in businesses – but there remains little connection between the two. Bill Ferris, chair of the federal government’s Innovation Australia, shared similar views when he spoke at a seminar in Sydney hosted by the Young Presidents’ Organisation this week. Specifically, he proposes that Australian business needs to step up its ties with universities and research organisations. Ferris further goes on to state that Australia ranked last in the list of 26 OECD […]
With the release of the Australian Innovation Agenda in December 2015, Australia is experiencing significant economic and social change. Indeed, we are now entering a new era in which technology, research and ideas will become our most valuable cargo. Successfully leveraging these changes will ultimately require a social focus on innovation, collaboration and digital disruption. In regards to this, the Australian Parliament’s Trade and Investment Growth Committee have recently published its report entitled Inquiry into Australia’s Future in Research and Innovation. The report investigates […]
A characteristic feature of economic booms is that those caught up in the commotion believe they will go on perpetually. In this regard, Australia’s recent mining boom was no exception. Following the pattern of resource-based economies, a commodity price hike increased our terms of trade without any special effort on our part — adding 15 per cent to our national income over a six year period. Consequently, Australian industrial research and development (R&D) in the second half of the nineteenth and […]