Innovation Policy ReportMay 2014

Table of Contents

Australian Developments..............................................................................2

Australian Government Reviews of the SA and Victorian economies..........2Positioning for prosperity? Catching the next wave.....................................3Commercialisation Australia’s Value Proposition.........................................3High Performance Workplaces.....................................................................3Design-led Innovation..................................................................................4Developments in the Public Sector Innovation Network...............................4Innovation and the productivity challenge in the public sector.....................5Australian soil carbon map...........................................................................6CSIRO NASA partnership: 50 years............................................................6A Digitally-enabled Health System...............................................................7Compressed air engine on the horizon for Australia....................................7NSW: Industry-Research Collaboration Roundtable....................................8NSW Creative Laureate and NSW Emerging Creative Talent Awards........8Innovate NSW eHealth Pitching Event.........................................................8

International Developments........................................................................10Africa..........................................................................................................10Asia............................................................................................................10Europe........................................................................................................10North America............................................................................................14Global.........................................................................................................16

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Australian DevelopmentsAustralian Government Reviews of the South Australian and Victorian economiesReviews of the South Australian and Victorian economies were announced on 18 December 2013 in response to Holden’s decision to close its manufacturing operations by 2017.

The reviews are looking at ways to boost the competitiveness of the South Australian and Victorian economies, including:

encouraging investment and innovation in high growth sectors in the affected regions;

further investing in infrastructure to boost productive capacity;

supporting the diversification of automotive supply chain companies; and

supporting the training and redeployment of workers displaced by closures.

The scope of the reviews was broadened as a result of Toyota’s announcement that it would cease manufacturing by 2017.

The reviews will help inform the design of a growth fund and a broader Industry Investment and Competitiveness Agenda.

The growth fund will provide:

support for existing automotive component manufacturers in Victoria and South Australia to adjust their business output or business model to non-automotive and overseas customers, or who can commence or expand export activity; and

grants to existing and new businesses that establish or expand manufacturing operations in South Australia or Victoria, with preference for those businesses that employ former automotive workers.

The Industry Investment and Competitiveness Agenda is being developed by a taskforce chaired by the Prime Minister and also includes the Treasurer, the Minister for Trade and Investment and the Minister for Industry. The taskforce is due to report by mid-year.

The Agenda will focus on potential measures to promote national competitiveness and productivity including:

economy-wide measures to boost the competitiveness of Australian manufacturing and lower the costs of doing business, such as options to reduce the costs of energy and regulation on businesses;

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options to encourage innovation, including employee share schemes, support for research and development and commercialising good ideas;

options to accelerate the development of productivity enhancing infrastructure;

options to encourage the growth of small to medium businesses; and

economy-wide incentive mechanisms to boost investment in Australia.

Positioning for prosperity? Catching the next waveNew research released in March 2014 has identified 25 sectoral hotspots with the biggest potential to lift Australia’s growth over the next 20 years. Positioning for Prosperity? Catching the next wave, the third in Deloitte’s Building the Lucky Country series, analyses growth prospects across all major parts of Australia’s economy and highlights Australia’s current and future growth waves. The report recognises mining as the current wave, while agribusiness, gas, tourism, international education and wealth management represent the next wave and collectively have the potential to overtake mining and keep Australia at the top of the world’s national prosperity charts. The report includes an analysis of the intersections between global opportunity and Australian advantage and identifies 19 further potential growth pockets with major implications for Australia. The information is also available as a downloadable infographic.

Commercialisation Australia’s Value PropositionThe fifth issue of Commercialisation Australia’s Value Proposition is now available. The name of the magazine encapsulates Commercialisation Australia's mission - to see more of Australia’s ingenious inventions and world class R&D achieve commercial expression. The magazine is released quarterly and includes informative, entertaining and inspiring material.

This issue has a domain focus on the Defence, Safety and Security sector and features a number of case studies from Participants highlighting the challenges facing start-ups seeking to gain traction in this marketplace.

High Performance WorkplacesIn June 2013, the Australian Government Department of Industry commissioned the Centre for Workplace Leadership to conduct research to better understand:

The complex issues impacting small-to-medium sized manufacturing enterprises’ capacity and capabilities to grow into high performing firms; and

The industry and firm leadership necessary or desirable for such a transition.

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The underlying aim of the project is to produce more manufacturing companies that are able to compete domestically and globally and so grow and increase national wealth and employment.

The project is due for completion by January 2015.

Design-led InnovationIn June 2013 the Australian Government Department of Industry commissioned the University of Technology Sydney to investigate actions that encourage greater adoption of design-led innovation by Australian Small-to-Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs). The underlying aim of the project was to grow more Australian manufacturing SMEs into globally competitive mid-sized firms.

The project will provide examples and case studies of design; detail practical actions to promote the adoption of design-led innovation by Australian manufacturing SMEs; and practical tools that assist manufacturing SMEs diagnose and resolve problems in implementing design-led innovation.

The project is due for completion by June 2014.

Developments in the Public Sector Innovation NetworkThe Public Sector Innovation Network (PSIN) recently published the contact names of its co-ordination group , and its Terms of Reference.

The PSIN co-ordination group meets on a monthly basis to discuss developments in public sector innovation (PSI), provide updates on their department or agency innovation initiatives, and to plan innovation events (particularly Innovation Month). The group consists of public servants with a direct role or strong interest in innovation. Group members receive updates on PSI planning, notes and invites to the Co-ordination group meetings, and discuss issues on the group email list and GovDex.

Those who agree to the group’s Terms of Reference are listed as a contact for their agency on the PSIN page. These members distribute information on the PSI and collect information on innovation initiatives for the PSI’s annual report to the Secretaries Board. The group is currently wholly Canberra-based. If you are outside Canberra in a federal, state, or local government role and you’re interested in public sector innovation, we are looking to develop other PSIN chapters.

Innovation MonthThe PSIN is currently planning a program of events for Innovation Month and

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the rest of the year. Innovation Month will run from 7 July to 1 August 2014 under the theme Empower, Collaborate, Transform. Numerous ideas are on the drawing board, many of the below events are yet to be confirmed and the PSIN is seeking contacts to help develop them.

Pattern Breaking: innovative transformation of the public sector and beyondA one day event focussing on how the public sector can, and is, becoming more innovative.

Integrating Innovation into your DepartmentBased on the outcomes of the capability reviews innovation is an area needing development for many agencies. This event would be a discussion on how this can be done using the tools and resources of the PSIN.

So you have an ideas management systems – now what?A panel discussion on the challenge of how to integrate an ideas management system into your agency’s decision making processes and how to select and pursue the best ideas that come forward.

Dangerous Ideas for the Public Service: Borrowing shamelessly from The Festival of Dangerous Ideas, we’re looking to develop a ‘Dangerous Ideas’ series of lunchtime discussions including:

Innovate or die – Can you be a good public servant if you’re not innovating?

Innovation leadership or leadersunk – Are new models of leadership needed for innovation in the public service?

Failure – is it the dirty word we can all learn from?

The PSIN currently consists of over 1200 members. You can join the network by subscribing to the newsletter at the Innovation website. If you wish to discuss any of the above items please contact us.

Innovation and the productivity challenge in the public sectorThe Executive Director of the HC Coombs Policy Forum, Dr Mark Matthews, has suggested that the public service consider the concept of intelligence-based policymaking as a means of crafting quicker policy responses when information is partial or incomplete. Dr Matthews spoke about this concept at an address to senior public servants at the inaugural Policy Reflections Forum at the Australian Government Department of Communications in March 2014. Intelligence-based policymaking involves tests of competing hypotheses and is used widely by the intelligence

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community to inform decision-making when a shortage of time means that the accumulation of robust evidence is a challenge. Dr Matthews notes that an advantage of intelligence-based policymaking is that it is better positioned to handle the possible unhelpful reactions of those groups a piece of policy is aimed at.

Australian soil carbon mapIn March 2014 CSIRO released a map providing the most detailed and accurate representation of soil organic carbon stocks, to a depth of 30cm, at a national scale. The 2010 soil organic carbon map for Australia, draws on soil sampling data and innovative prediction methods. The map includes an estimate of soil carbon stock and an estimate of the uncertainty for approximately two billion football-field-sized blocks (90m by 90m) across Australia.

Flinders and Gilbert Agricultural Resource AssessmentA team of over 100 people, led by CSIRO, have recently completed investigations into the climate, soils, water capture, storage options and potential productivity of agricultural development in two north Queensland catchments: Flinders and Gilbert. Findings from their research have now been released by the Australian and Queensland Governments.

Commissioned by the Australian Government under the North Queensland Irrigated Agriculture Strategy, the Flinders and Gilbert Agricultural Resource Assessment looked at the opportunities and challenges associated with new agricultural development in these catchments.

CSIRO NASA partnership: 50 yearsOn 19 March 2014, NASA's top officials were in Canberra to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their Deep Space Network (DSN). CSIRO’s Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex (CDSCC) at Tidbinbilla plays a crucial role in the DSN. Coincidentally, this year also marks the 50th year for the CDSCC.

The DSN is made of up three tracking stations from around the world — Tidbinbilla (Canberra), Goldstone (California) and Madrid (Spain). It controls spacecraft travelling through the solar system and receives the data they send back. Together, the three stations provide around-the-clock contact with more than 40 spacecraft, including missions to study Mars, Venus, Jupiter, Pluto, the Moon and the Sun.

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Wealth from Waste ClusterThe Wealth from Waste Cluster was launched on the 28 March 2014. The Cluster is a three-year research program that builds on work undertaken by the Mineral Futures Collaboration Cluster (2009-12). It focuses on ‘mining' above ground resources, which are the metals contained in collections of discarded manufactured products and consumer goods.

The research program is funded through CSIRO's Minerals Down Under and Future Manufacturing flagships and partner universities, including:

The University of Technology, Sydney;

Monash University;

The University of Queensland;

Swinburne University of Technology; and

Yale University (USA).

A Digitally-enabled Health SystemThe report ‘A Digitally-enabled Health System’ looks at how the Australian health system can reduce costs and deliver quality care.

Some of the technology identified in the report includes telepresence robots taking rural health workers on city ward rounds, wireless ID wristbands monitoring patients in real time, mobile health apps assisting with at-home rehab and smart software that knows what patients will be turning up to emergency departments, from six to 12 months in advance.

The Report found that Big Data analytics and decision support tools will be a major driver in tomorrow’s digital hospital, helping staff move from reactive to proactive planning to minimise wait times, improve bed availability, and forecast likely discharge times – all of which make for a far less stressful experience for patients and staff alike.

Compressed air engine on the horizon for AustraliaIT MDI Energy Ltd and its production partner AirVolution, are planning to release a compressed air engine for the Australian, New Zealand and Pacific Island markets. The compressed air engine is designed to be a low cost, environmentally friendly option to meeting transport and small scale power generation needs.

IT MDI Energy Ltd hopes to releases its first product, the Airpod, into the Australian market in the near future. The Airpod, is a compact, compressed air powered vehicle that produces no pollution, can seat three, and is able to reach speeds of 80km per hour. The vehicle can be filled in approximately two minutes at an air filling station and its top up power supply able to be

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recharged in three and a half to four hours using an electric plug.

After being filled with compressed air, the engine uses solar technology to heat and expand the air, providing sufficient pressure to power pistons in the engine. When stationary, the vehicle can be used as a standby electricity generator, air conditioner or means of collecting water from the condensation of cool air.

At a time when Australia’s traditional automotive manufacturing sector continues to decline, IT MDI Energy Ltd is proposing a decentralised manufacturing model for the Compressed Air Engine. This decision will enable the product to be manufactured locally in the region.

NSW: Industry-Research Collaboration RoundtableThe Sydney Business Chamber, with the support of the NSW Government, conducted an industry-research collaboration roundtable on 5 February 2014 to strengthen the connection between business and research with a focus on Western Sydney.

Australia’s Chief Scientist, Professor Ian Chubb, joined 60 representatives from business, university and government for the high level event to discuss strategies to improve commercial outcomes from R&D in Australia.

The outcomes of the roundtable will inform a PricewaterhouseCoopers report, commissioned by the Chamber, on potential future initiatives to improve industry-research collaboration.

NSW Creative Laureate and NSW Emerging Creative Talent AwardsIn response to a recommendation within the NSW Creative Industries Action Plan, the NSW Government established the annual NSW Creative Laureate and NSW Emerging Creative Talent Awards to recognise NSW creative industries’ achievements that have contributed to increasing the global profile of NSW Creative Industries.

The Award ceremony will be an annual event, during Vivid Sydney.

Nominations for the inaugural Awards opened 26 February and close on 6 April 2014. The awards will be determined by an independent, industry drawn, Judging Panel. The inaugural event is on 28 May 2014.

Innovate NSW eHealth Pitching EventAn eHealth pitching and networking event was held by NSW Trade and Investment on 27 March 2014 to facilitate introductions, exchange of ideas and the formation of consortia relating to potential health initiatives.

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which provides project consortia with grants of up to 25 per cent of project costs (to a maximum of $100 000) to develop innovative, new-to-market business-to-business solutions. The purpose of the programme is to foster collaboration between industry partners towards delivering a compelling, new-to-market solution in one of the key sectors of e-health; advanced manufacturing; energy technologies and services; online & interactive education; or transport, logistics & infrastructure.

Around 150 people attended the event, which received good feedback about new opportunities and linkages formed.

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International DevelopmentsAfrica

Egyptian Science, Technology and Innovation ObservatoryThe Egyptian Science, Technology and Innovation Observatory was launched in February 2014. The Observatory aims to be a repository for Science, Technology and Innovation data and a source of policy analysis in support of evidence based policy making in Egypt, and undertakes evaluation, monitoring and measurement of innovation activities.

Asia

UNCTAD to support Thailand in Science, Technology and Innovation policyThe United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and Thailand’s National Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Office signed a Memorandum of Understanding in March 2014. The agreement includes a UNCTAD review of the overall effectiveness of the Thai national system of innovation, as well as specific studies regarding human resources development, agriculture and innovation in logistic services. UNCTAD staff and international consultants will carry out the review in 2014 with the close involvement of stakeholders from the Government of Thailand, academic community, and the private sector.

Europe

Call for Knowledge and Innovation Communities proposalsThe European Institute of Innovation and Technology announced the 2014 Call for Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KIC) proposals in February 2014. Applicants are invited to submit their proposals with a view to selecting and designating a KIC in each of the following thematic areas:

innovation for healthy living and active ageing; and

raw materials: sustainable exploration, extraction, processing, recycling and substitution.

A KIC is a highly autonomous partnership of top-class higher education institutions, research organisations, companies, and other stakeholders in the innovation process, that tackles societal challenges through the development of products, services and processes and also by nurturing innovative, entrepreneurial people. A KIC connects excellence-driven innovation hubs, the co-location centres, with a view to becoming leading centres of excellence

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and competing and collaborating with other innovation hubs across the world. Applications close on 10 September 2014.

EU: Innovation Union Scoreboard 2014The Innovation Union Scoreboard 2014 was released in March, and provides a comparative assessment of the research and innovation performance of the European Union (EU) Member States and the relative strengths and weaknesses of their research and innovation systems.

The Scoreboard shows that the EU and its Member States have become more innovative in recent years. However, the differences in the innovation performance within the EU are still very high. The overall ranking within the EU remains relatively stable, with Sweden at the top, followed by Denmark, Germany and Finland. Portugal, Estonia and Latvia are the countries that have most improved over the last years. The most progress has been made in the openness and attractiveness of the EU research system as well as business innovation collaboration and the commercialisation of knowledge as measured by licence and patent revenues from abroad. However, the growth of public R&D expenditures over the last years was offset by a continuous decline in venture capital investments and non-R&D innovation investments in companies.

EU: New tools to make museums more interactiveThe European Commission has provided €2.8 million to fund the Cultural - Heritage Experiences through Socio-personal interactions and Storytelling project which aims to make the museum experience more engaging.

A new innovation using mobile, augmented reality, and geo-localisation technologies, turns an ordinary museum visit into a personal, interactive storytelling experience. Created by a consortium of academic, industrial and cultural organisations across Europe, the technology will enable tourists to enhance their experience by participating in a personal, tailored itinerary and interactive experience created by museum sites.

UK: Innovation Report 2014In March 2014, the United Kingdom (UK) Department of Business, Innovation and Skills released its Innovation Report 2014. The report contains evidence on innovation activities, compares UK performance against other economies and highlights innovation policy. The report notes that the UK continues to perform strongly in a number of areas such as public and private R&D investment and intangible asset investment. The report is part of a reflection on what the UK’s innovation system should look like in the next decade and represents the start of a process which will culminate in a fresh long-term

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strategy for science and innovation to be released later this year.

UK: Science strategy for world-leading research in sustainable forest management and woodland creationThe United Kingdom (UK) Forestry Commission launched a six-year Science and Innovation Strategy in March 2014. The strategy projects will provide the evidence base for delivering long term, sustainable health and wellbeing benefits of trees and woodlands to people; steer practical woodland management and expansion; help to direct environmentally sustainable land-use change and direct a wide range of sustainable benefits from trees and woodlands to support economic growth in the UK. The strategy was developed with stakeholders from England, Scotland and Wales during 2012 and on a public consultation exercise in 2013.

UK: 20 innovative business models for sustainabilityUnited Kingdom consultancy SustainAbility has released a report on innovative business models. The report, Model Behaviour, explores business model innovation in the context of sustainability and opens with the premise that disruptive innovation is more about business models than products. It suggests larger and more established companies tend not to be the source of new business models but these companies can help evolve and mature them.

UK: Nesta examines what drives the dynamics of business growthA new working paper by Nesta seeks to explore what drives the dynamics of business growth across ten OECD countries.

The paper, released in March 2014, shows how various policy settings, such as labour market regulation, bankruptcy legislation, financial market systems, and R&D support policies influence growth dynamics. The study analyses changes in the whole distribution of firm employment growth, and so captures the heterogeneity of firm growth dynamics within sectors.

Key findings reveal that financial development, higher banking competition and better contract enforcement are associated with a more dynamic growth distribution, with a lower share of stable firms and higher shares of growing and shrinking firms. While stringent employment protection legislation, as well as generous R&D fiscal incentives, are associated with a less dynamic firm growth distribution, with more stable firms and fewer growing and shrinking firms.

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UK: Nesta reports on the Craft of Supporting Early Stage Social VenturesNesta’s report Good Incubation – the Craft of Supporting Early Stage Social Ventures, charts the rise of social venture incubation, with a focus on key learnings from various programmes around the world.

Social venture incubation is a relatively new area but one which is gaining increasing recognition as an important way of solving the social and environmental challenges of our age.

The term ‘Incubation’ refers to a collection of techniques that can be used to prove an idea, develop a team and de–risk ventures for later–stage investors. Whilst social impact investment has emerged as a means of financing these sorts of incubation activities; the impact investment world has struggled to develop a reliable ‘pipeline’ of early–stage potential investments to match the growing amount of capital that is available for later–stage ventures. To fill this gap social venture incubation has grown to help founders develop ventures that are investable propositions.

The report, published in March 2014, finds that there are there are five models of support that have emerged to support early stage ventures, including: co-working spaces, social venture academies, impact angel networks, impact accelerators, and social venture prizes and competitions.

The report also makes a series of recommendations on how social venture incubation can be further developed through, for example:

gaining a better understanding of business models of incubation;

helping incubators to standardise their impact metrics; and

creating better ways to help founders chose the right model and programme.

UK and Northern Ireland: Two new public sector innovation labsThe Government of Northern Ireland has announced a new Innovation Laboratory. Finance Minister Simon Hamilton noted the growth of innovation labs globally. The first Innovation Laboratory project, which will be undertaken in conjunction with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment, will focus on the operation of Regulatory Impact Assessments, and will consider how these can be made more effective in delivering a robust assessment of the regulatory impact on businesses.

In addition, the UK Cabinet Office has launched Policy Lab UK which will bring “new policy techniques to the UK Government, helping design services around people’s experience, using data analytics and new digital tools”. Some background information on Policy Lab UK can be found on the UK Design

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Council’s website.

North America

Canada First Research FundThe Canadian government has announced a new fund, the Canada First Research Excellence Fund aimed at strengthening science, technology and innovation in Canada. The Fund aims to support Canadian institutions of higher education to excel globally in research areas that create long-term economic advantages for Canada.

The Fund joins programs such as the Canada Excellence Research Chairs and the Canada Research Chairs in contributing to Canada’s performance in research across all disciplines. The Fund will enable Canada's institutions to seize emerging opportunities, generate talent and breakthrough discoveries on the international stage.

Funding will be allocated on a competitive, peer-reviewed basis, though the details are not yet fully described. The fund will be allocated $50 million in 2015/2016, with $200 million annually from 2018–19 and beyond.

Nanomanufacturing: Emergence and Implications for US Competitiveness, the Environment, and Human HealthOn 7 February 2014, the United States (US) Government Accountability Office released Nanomanufacturing: Emergence and Implications for US Competitiveness, the Environment, and Human Health. The report highlights of a forum which was convened by the Comptroller General of the US in July 2013, during which participants from industry, government, and academia discussed the future of nanomanufacturing. The report addresses current US investments in nanotechnology R&D, comparisons of R&D spending with other key nations, assessments of future needs, and options for enhancing US nanomanufacturing competitiveness.

US: Accelerating Medicines Partnership Launched The United States National Institutes of Health, 10 biopharmaceutical companies, and several non-profits have launched the Accelerating Medicines Partnership. The aim of the partnership is jointly identifying and validating promising biological targets of disease. The ultimate goal is to increase the number of new diagnostics and therapies for patients and reduce the time and cost of developing them.

The partnership will begin with three to five year pilot projects in three disease areas: Alzheimer's disease; type 2 diabetes; and auto immune disorders of rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. All data and analyses that result from the

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partnership will be available to the public. A critical component of the partnership is that industry partners have agreed to make the AMP data and analyses publicly accessible to the broad biomedical community. These pilot projects will set the stage for broadening AMP to other diseases and conditions.

US: NASA selects 108 SBIR phase II projectsNASA has selected 108 research and technology proposals from United States small businesses that will enable the agency's future missions while benefiting America's new high technology-driven economy. These proposals will now enter into negotiations for contract awards as part of NASA's Small Business Innovation Research Phase II program. The aerospace technology and innovation projects have a total value of $87 million and support 99 businesses in 26 states.

US: Funding of $17m awarded to SBIR projectsUS$17 million has been awarded to Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) projects to help small businesses in 13 states develop prototype technologies to boost manufacturing energy efficiency, cut costs of clean energy projects, and generate electricity from renewable energy. These 17 SBIR Phase I and II projects, supported by the United States Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, include technologies from wind turbine blades that are easier to transport and use less energy to an electrochromic window technology able to achieve a 30 per cent reduction in energy use, and a solar energy system that cuts installation costs and generates power in less time.

US: Plan to train public innovatorsThe Harwood Institute for Public Innovation, a United States non-profit organisation has announced a plan to train 5000 public innovators by 2016. Public innovators are individuals with the mindset and skills to catalyse and drive productive change in communities and change how communities work together.

US: NIST funds five Manufacturing Tech Acceleration CentersFunding of almost US$2.5 million has been awarded to five pilot projects by the National Institute of Standards and Technology to improve the competitiveness of United States small manufacturers and the rates at which they adopt new technologies.

Working within specific supply chains to understand their technology needs and trends, the new Manufacturing Technology Accelerator Center teams will identify where manufacturing most needs assistance in adopting or adapting

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technologies. The pilot projects aim to bridge the gap between available technologies and their commercial adoption by small firms. These efforts are aligned with the United States administration’s plans to launch a national network of innovation institutes to support growth of its manufacturing sector.

US Climate Data Initiative In March 2014, the United States government launched the Climate Data Initiative, a broad effort to leverage the Federal Government’s extensive, freely-available climate-relevant data resources to stimulate innovation and private-sector entrepreneurship in support of national climate-change preparedness. Included in the proposed initiatives is the climate-focused section of Data.gov, called climate.data.gov, which makes federal climate data more open, accessible, and useful to citizens, researchers, entrepreneurs, and innovators.

US: Industry-sponsored academic inventions spur increased innovationAnalysis shows that industry-sponsored, academic research leads to innovative patents and licenses. The report, funded by the United States National Science Foundation's Directorate for Social, Behavioural and Economic Sciences, calls into question assumptions that corporate support skews science toward inventions that are less accessible and less useful to others than those funded by the government or non-profit organisations. The report analysed 12 516 inventions and related licenses at nine University of California campuses and three associated national laboratories. The inventions were disclosed between 1990 and 2005, and licensing activity was analysed through 2010. Of the inventions, nearly 1500 were supported at least partly by private industry.

Global

Advance Global Australian AwardsThe 2014 Advance Global Australian Award winners were announced on 13 March 2014 at a forum and ceremony at the Sydney Opera House. Winners of the 2012 and 2013 Awards are described on the Advance website.

Advance is the leading global network of Australians and alumni abroad, with a growing membership of over 20 000 in 80 countries. The not-for-profit organisation is headquartered in the US and has industry networks in the US, Asia, UK, Europe and Australia. Advance is supported by the Australian Government, State Governments and global corporate partners and donors.

Part-funded through a $3 million grant awarded to Advance in 2010-11 to support the measure “Advance: Leveraging Australia’s Global Expat

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Platform”, the Advance Global Australian Awards are designed to recognise and engage high achievers in Australia’s diaspora and global alumni of Australian universities. The selection panel for the awards consists of eight eminent Australians who represent the country's diverse entrepreneurial culture.

Awards are provided in eight industry sectors including:  Biotechnology, Clean Technology, Mining and Resources, Advanced Manufacturing, Information and Communication Technologies, Financial Services, Social Innovation and Creative Industries.

Front End of Innovation ConferenceThe 12th annual Front End of Innovation Conference will be held in Boston (United States) from 13-15 May 2014. Further information and the event’s agenda can be found online.

OECD Symposium on Innovation and Inclusive GrowthThe Growth Dialogue and OCED held a Symposium on Innovation and Inclusive Growth on 20-21 March 2014, which brought together leading experts and policy makers from advanced, emerging and developing economies to discuss the critical challenges that need to be addressed for innovation to support inclusive growth and identify key policy principles.

Key Questions the symposium focused on were:

what are the impacts of innovation and innovation policy on industrial, social and territorial inclusiveness;

how can inclusive innovation initiatives be expanded to improve welfare and facilitate the democratisation of innovation;

what are key implications for policy; and

what can be done to support the successful implementation of novel approaches to policy to effectively support inclusive growth.

The OECD is currently engaged in project which seeks to provide evidence on the impacts of innovation and related policies on inclusive growth and develop concrete policy solutions to support countries in reconciling innovation and inclusive development agendas. Initial findings were presented as part of the symposium. The findings will be presented in the form of a publication at a high-level conference in January 2015.

OECD Intelligent Demand: Policy Rationale, Design and Potential BenefitsThe OECD report Intelligent Demand: Policy Rationale, Design and Potential Benefits was released on 14 February 2014. The report reviews demand-side

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innovation policies, their rationales (which vary across each of the different demand-side instruments), the importance they are accorded across countries, different approaches to their design, the challenges entailed in their implementation and evaluation, and identified good practices. Three main forms of demand-side policy are considered: innovation-oriented public procurement, innovation-oriented regulations, and standards.

The report found that to be successful, innovation-oriented procurement requires significant capacity development in the public sector, including a break with traditional and risk-averse procurement practices. Capacity constraints and problems of limited scale economies can occur when initiatives are offered at a state rather than federal level, and so interaction may also be needed across different parts of government. The design of procurement procedures must also ensure that competition is preserved and that SME participation is facilitated.

The report notes that procurement of innovation entails risks beyond those incurred in traditional procurement, including technological risk, risks related to the uptake by users of the good or service, and market risks - regarding both supply and demand. Public bodies can mitigate marked risk by implementing additional demand-side measures, such as user training schemes, or using demand aggregation, in particular by bundling public demand.

OECD Forum 2014The OCED Forum 2014 will focus on Resilient Economies for Inclusive Societies, and will be held on 5-6 May 2014. The Forum will focus on three cutting themes: Inclusive Growth, Quality Jobs and Trust; and will contribute to the debate on new policy alternatives for the most pressing challenges facing our economies and societies. Motivation for the forum includes that although OECD-wide unemployment should decrease slightly this year, 48 million people remain unemployed in OECD countries and 202 million globally. Young people and the low-skilled have been hit the hardest, and youth unemployment remains at dramatically high levels in many countries. The Forum will build on discussions of the 2013 Forum, will offer an opportunity to reflect further on what governments, international organisations and the various OECD stakeholders must do to help develop more resilient economies and societies. 

OECD: Promoting Research Excellence ReportOn 27 February 2014, the OECD released the Promoting Research Excellence report, which presents new evidence on how Research Excellence Initiatives (for example the Australian Research Council Centres of Excellence initiative), work and the characteristics of the supported Centres of Excellence

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can help to inform discussions on future government policy directions. The report shows that some of the benefits to be gained through Research Excellence Initiatives, including increased researcher mobility (both within national boundaries and abroad), is essential for scientific discovery and increasing productivity. Research Excellence Initiatives make it easier for Centres of Excellence to attract top scientists and foreign talent, and the intake of foreign researchers also ultimately helps to form the long-run linkages that foster innovation and knowledge creation at international level.

OECD: Green Growth Knowledge Sharing PlatformThe Green Growth Knowledge Platform (GGKP) has launched a knowledge-sharing platform that aims to respond to increasing demand from policy makers and the public for more information on ways to achieve sustainable economic growth. Like the GGKP itself, the website spans the traditional divide between economy and the environment. It mobilises knowledge, experience and support from disparate partners in both the global economic and environmental arenas, all of which share the common goal of accelerating green growth. Key features of the new platform include: a searchable e-library with over 600 technical and policy resources, as well as dashboards with data and policies for 193 countries. The GGKP was established in 2012 and expanded since into a global partnership of international organizations and experts which jointly aim at identifying and addressing major knowledge gaps in green growth theory and practice.

Promoting Research Excellence: New Approaches to FundingThe OECD’s release Promoting Research Excellence: New Approaches to Funding presents new evidence on how governments steer and fund public research in higher education and public research institutions through Research Excellence Initiatives (REIs). REIs are designed to encourage research by providing large-scale, long-term funding to designated research units. They provide funds for research and related measures, such as the improvement or extension of physical infrastructure, the recruitment of outstanding researchers from abroad, and researcher training. The report highlights benefits to be gained through REIs and notes pitfalls to be avoided.

UN to launch innovation training for governmentsThe UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) will launch a project to help build policymakers’ capacity to implement science and innovation fostering plans in developing countries. The initiative was prompted by the recognition that many developing countries were struggling to implement the recommendations UNCTAD issues as part of its reviews of nations’ science, technology and innovation policies. UNCTAD aims to develop training materials for policymakers that explain best practice in

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designing and executing innovation plans and create a network of experts and institutions that can help develop training tools on an ongoing basis.

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