Insights
Australian innovation policy and research commercialisation.
Economic Stakes Are Too High
International firms pay billions to acquire successful Australian technology companies, while Australian industry policy funds research institutions while starving local vendors of scaling support to do more onshore.
Who Takes The Risk
Institutions point to Australia’s $4.2 trillion superannuation funds asking for “patient capital” to support research spin-outs. Yet Australian companies whose commercial survival depends on successful innovation translation are completely overlooked.
Australia’s Commercial Success Formula
The Commercialisation Skills Australia Needs Already Exist In a Newcastle workshop, 3ME Technology electrified underground mining equipment before expanding into marine and defence applications. This isn't a story about startup funding or university spin-offs. It's...
Two Axis of Innovation
Great products fail in weak companies. Mediocre products win in strong companies. Current policy obsesses over Technology Readiness Levels while ignoring a critical truth: innovation success operates on two dimensions, not one.
The Missing Bridge Builders
Australian innovation policy designs bridges between research institutions and end-user companies, bypassing the bridge builders; Australian technology companies with proven capabilities to carry innovation to global markets.
Different Skills, Different Jobs
Australia has world-class research and commercial companies. The challenge isn’t capability, it is competency. Policy settings place commercialisation responsibility on research organisations, bypassing Australian companies who actually know how.
International Commercialisation Lessons
The UK spent £2.5 billion on academic-led commercialisation. Result: 40% industry revenue vs Fraunhofer’s 70%, poor exports, minimal company creation. Commercial problems need commercial solutions.
Who’s Missing from Australia’s Innovation Policy?
The productivity conversation needs commercial voices While there has been a very long list of policy influencers vying for an invitation to the productivity roundtables, the list of who made it through the door reveals a striking insight into Government policy...
Fraunhofer works because of commercial discipline
Germany doesn’t have a monopoly on brilliant scientists. The secret to Fraunhofer’s success lies in something Australian policy makers consistently overlook: commercial discipline, not research relevance.
Projects End, Companies Endure
Innovation doesn’t cross the Valley of Death, companies do. We have built an ecosystem around project-based grant funding, and wonder why Australian companies struggle to scale globally.