Innovation for Major Defence CapabilitiesDefence Innovation Forum 2014

Vice Admiral Peter Jones, AO, DSC, RAN

Chief Capability Development Group

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Topics Covered

• Criticality of Innovation to Defence Capabilities

• Innovation success factors

• Innovation: A Key Variable

• Role of innovation in capability development

• Challenges for innovation

• What we have learnt

• Current innovation programs

• Spectrum of Defence innovation

Capability Development Group

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Criticality of Innovation to Defence Capabilities

• Superior decision-making based on better intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance

• Better training or professional mastery

• More capable and networked systems

• Greater use of Innovation

Capability Development Group

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Innovation Success Factors

• Awareness of context;

• quality of innovating concept;

• continuous collaboration

• delivering innovation project outcomes

• confidence in innovation-to-capability realisation

• long-term commitment

• manage risk rather than avoid it

Capability Development Group

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Innovation: A Key Variable

• Sources of innovation

– Overseas

• Alliances

– Domestic

• Industry

• Academia

• DSTO etc

Capability Development Group

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Ikara

Role of Innovation in Capability Development

Capability Development Group

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Jindalee OHR

Role of Innovation in Capability Development

Capability Development Group

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Nulka

Role of Innovation in Capability Development

Capability Development Group

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Bushmaster

Role of Innovation in Capability Development

Capability Development Group

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ANZAC ASMD

Role of Innovation in Capability Development

Capability Development Group

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Challenges for Innovation

• Coordination and integration across programs- Alignment of disparate program stakeholders with specific interests- Follow development of ideas from ‘concepts’ to ‘systems’

• Flexibility in Defence capability funding

• Inherent tension between innovation and risk- Risk management

• Linking end-users to innovation base

• Inclusion of Australian and International academia

• Generation of innovative new ideas- Defence Innovation Forum (DIF)

Capability Development Group

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What we have learnt

Defence innovation needs:

1. Sustainable innovation market- reliable business opportunities (genuine, enduring user needs)

- long-term industry planning and investments

2. Solid innovation base- industry, academia, cooperative research organisations

- R&D capabilities and capacity

- innovation culture

3. Organisational structure and processes to link innovation base to users- early engagement

- understanding of capability needs

- ongoing collaboration

Capability Development Group

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• Capability Technology Demonstrator (CTD) - DSTO

• Unsolicited Innovative Proposals (UIP) Scheme - DSTO

• Rapid Prototyping, Dev’t and Evaluation (RPDE) - CDG

• Defence Materials Technology Centre (DMTC)- Dept. of Industry, DMO

• Diggerworks – DMO

• Defence Innovation Realisation Fund (DIRF)

• PIC Development Fund (PICDF)

• Senior Innovation Steering Committee - Project Initiation and Review Board (PIRB)

Current Innovation Programs

Capability Development Group

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Spectrum Of Defence Innovation

Technology maturityLow High

Sys

tem

mat

urity

Low

Hig

h

DMTC

Digger-works

R&D

RPDEPIC DF

CTD

DIF

PIRB (Oversight)DIRF (Fund)

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Capability Development Group

Questions?