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 […]
In today’s modern society, businesses are moving at an accelerated pace and bigger companies are facing threats from smaller, digital competitors. At present, few companies can escape the all-pervasive impact of digital disruption as it streamlines business relationships, overhauls logistics processes and revolutionises markets across every sector. Yet, when an organisation matures to a medium or large concern, it can lose some of the innovative drive which brought its success, and thereafter begins to fade. Innovation, by its very nature, involves taking risks […]
Customarily, when people consider innovation they often concentrate on the end product – i.e. the app, the software or the piece of hardware. However, they generally dismiss the steps beforehand that are essential in developing the aforementioned innovative artefact. In particular, policies can play a large part in the innovation process. In relation to this, there have been significant announcements regarding innovation policies of late. On Tuesday night, the 2016-17 Federal Budget was released, which notably proposed changes to lower […]
Over the last twelve months there has been substantial activity in respect to the research and development (R&D) tax incentive with various announcements broadcasted by the government and a declaration of a review of the programme. As a result, the discourse of business and government in Australia is rife with mentions to innovation, disruption and dexterity. Last night, the treasury announced the 2016-2017 budget, signifying a major step in making Turnbull’s innovation goals a reality. In light of this, the […]