Home » News » Bill Ferris Calls for Stronger R&D Collaboration Ties

Bill Ferris Calls for Stronger R&D Collaboration Ties

May 11th, 2016

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 countries when it came to collaboration between business and public research institutions on innovation. He believes that our “collaboration ranking is a direct contributor to our poor performance at commercialising our discoveries.”

Thus, could changing our approach to collaboration assist in commercialising research? There is no denying that oligopoly structures in certain industries have fortified an inward-focused business sector that could be impeding Australia’s innovation economy.

Mr Ferris, Chief Scientist, Dr Alan Finkel and Treasury head John Fraser are on a committee that has been looking at ways to improve the current tax regime to encourage business investment in research and development. Ferris notes that the government currently spent approximately $3 billion a year on R&D tax incentives for business. “The review looked at the degree to which additional R&D is encouraged (by the tax incentives)… and whether the program could be calibrated to include greater emphasis on rewarding collaboration and incentivising and motivating business to work with and seek solutions from our publicly funded research organisations,” he said. The review was handed to the government in April and is expected to deliver a response to the public later this year.

Nonetheless, Ferris highlights that businesses also needed to be more proactive in reaching out to the university sector as a way to solve collaboration problems – underlining that not only do researchers need to reach out to businesses, but businesses need to reach out to the universities and other research institutions. “It’s a two-way street,” he states.

Overall, cultivating a partnership between businesses and universities is important and could certainly help bridge the gap between research and proven technology. University and corporate partnerships, driven through tax breaks or other integrated models, could ensure investment in research and innovation in Australia does not get left behind in a competitive international market. With Australia embarking on a dramatic transformation from the mining boom, univeristy and business collaboration could indeed be a viable engine for Australia’s innovation and future growth.

If you’ve invested in Research and Development(R&D), contact us today to see if your eligible for the government’s R&D Tax Incentive.

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 11. August, 2022
 
 
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 2. June, 2022
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.  Damian Smyth and his team are very helpful, supportive and experts in their field of R&D Tax claims. I'm always happy with the work they do and been a customer of their for over 5 years.
  
 
 
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 31. May, 2022
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.  The Team at Swanson Reed are very experienced R&D Tax Advisors and gave us ongoing support with all of our R&D Claims, the consultants ensured we were always working with current legislative guidelines, gave us assistance with compiling technical and government documentation and went out their way to ensure they were with us for the entire process from beginning to end.  Highly recommended to anyone who needs assistance with working through what can at times be a daunting process.
  
 
 
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   Gary Watson  
 31. May, 2022
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.  We can highly recommend Swanson and Reed as an R & D accountant. We have worked with them for several years now as they make our R & D claim so easy and communicate quickly with both us and our accountant.
  
 
 
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 31. May, 2022
 
 
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         Posted on Google  
   
   Daniel McGregor  
 11. August, 2022
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.  I have been using Swanson Reed for my clients for more than a decade.  Having a specialist firm that can provide practical and commercial advice that produces real outcomes is very important and we have received great feedback from our clients.
Highly recommended.
  
 
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   John  
 15. June, 2022
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.  Damian and the rest of the team at Swanson Reed have been supporting us for several years.  We always appreciate their insights, expertise, and efforts.
  
 
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Rueben Rajasingam  
 6. June, 2022
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.  Experienced responsive Team. They have been a great help to me and my company navigate the R&D tax claim process and have provided invaluable advice.
  
 
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Enrique Esquivel  
 6. June, 2022
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.  Damian and the team at Swanson Reed have been extremely helpfully and professional during all of our consultations. Highly recommended.
  
 
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Jess at Y&C  
 3. June, 2022
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.  
  
 
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Anatole Kononewsky  
 2. June, 2022
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.  The Swanson Reed team have provided our company with exceptional professional advice and assistance for all of our R&D claims for many years - have always achieved great results with excellent value for their services.
  
 
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Payam Toloo  
 2. June, 2022
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.  Damian Smyth and his team are very helpful, supportive and experts in their field of R&D Tax claims. I'm always happy with the work they do and been a customer of their for over 5 years.
  
 
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Melissa Doddy  
 31. May, 2022
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.  The Team at Swanson Reed are very experienced R&D Tax Advisors and gave us ongoing support with all of our R&D Claims, the consultants ensured we were always working with current legislative guidelines, gave us assistance with compiling technical and government documentation and went out their way to ensure they were with us for the entire process from beginning to end.  Highly recommended to anyone who needs assistance with working through what can at times be a daunting process.
  
 
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Gary Watson  
 31. May, 2022
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.  We can highly recommend Swanson and Reed as an R & D accountant. We have worked with them for several years now as they make our R & D claim so easy and communicate quickly with both us and our accountant.
  
 
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Rob van den Bergh  
 31. May, 2022
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google.  Always professional.
  
 
 
  
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