Towards 3% R&D – continuous improvement in manufacturing by Serena Ross

Today in our editorial series – Towards 3% R&D – Turbocharging Australia’s Innovation Effort – Serena Ross contrasts innovation to be new to the world, and continuous improvement – the lifeblood of her company, Circuitwise Electronics. Australia’s innovation effort can be improved by a greater focus on ‘ordinary’ innovation. In contrast to deep-tech or R&D-focused…

Towards 3% R&D – Boosting industry and research collaboration, by Dr Tony Peacock

With business and direct government spending on R&D falling, and only university research rising, our editorial series – Towards 3% R&D – Turbocharging Australia’s Innovation Effort – turns to collaboration between industry and public sector researchers. By Dr Tony Peacock. If Australia is to turbocharge our R&D to reach 3% of GDP, businesses will have…

Towards 3% R&D – now NSW puts industry and innovation at the centre of government

The New South Wales Premier Chris Minns has announced that industry, innovation, trade and investment functions will return to the centre of government through the transfer of Investment NSW to the Premier’s Department. This front door of government will make it easier for industry, investors, and entrepreneurs to participate in major government priorities and ensure…

Towards 3% R&D – the statistics tell us national innovation is faltering

Launching our new editorial series – Towards 3% – turbocharging our national innovation effort – innovation policy analyst Dr John Howard looks behind the statistics to reveal that Australia’s national R&D effort has slumped since 2009. In this edited excerpt, the first part of a two-part series, Dr Howard shows Australia is falling further behind.…

Deriving data from dreamers

Less than two weeks before our Australia’s 50 Most Innovative Manufacturers awards event at Cockle Bay Wharf, we profile another of the standout candidates. Brent Balinski speaks to Sleeptite founder Cameron van den Dungen about an eight-year quest to develop what’s been described as “a bed that watches you sleep”. Sleeptite did not set out…

Without community support, the green energy transition will fail. Here’s how to get communities on board

By Simon Wright, Charles Sturt University Connecting cheap, clean energy from renewables comes with a hidden cost and challenge: building 5,000 kilometres of new transmission lines this decade, and another 5,000km after that. This sounds like a lot, but 5,000km is only around 10% of the existing grid network, and unlocks more than 32 gigawatts…