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Research to create tomorrow's ideas

The Smart State Strategy acknowledges the impact of technologies such as biotechnology and information and communication technology (ICT) on the world economy.

One of the first building blocks of the Smart State Strategy was to grow Queensland's research base.

Investing in research and development (R&D) allows local business and industry to access new ideas and knowledge that can be commercialised for financial gain. Local commercialisation of research also enables faster access to new products, inventions and services that may improve the quality of life of people living in Queensland. Strong research capabilities within the state also help to retain and attract world-class scientists to contribute to the knowledge base in Queensland.

Queensland now has significant critical mass in world-class research expertise, in areas of priority to our state economy (such as mining and agriculture), and in the enabling technologies (such as biotechnology and ICT) which arguably drive the most significant impacts in global productivity growth.

The Queensland Government has worked in partnership with Queensland's universities and research institutes to invest in significant infrastructure and projects that have attracted further funding from commercial and philanthropic organisations and the Commonwealth Government.

Since 1998, the Queensland Government has committed approximately $536 million towards health and medical R&D infrastructure, skills and commercialisation initiatives such as:

Institute for Molecular Bioscience - the largest bioscience facility of its type in Australia.
Queensland Brain Institute - where researchers are exploring ways to stimulate the production of new functional nerve cells to overcome diseases such as dementia, stroke and motor neuron disease and to promote optimal brain function.
Institute for Health and Biomedical Innovation - where researchers work at the interfaces between traditional scientific disciplines to solve the issues affecting the wellbeing of Australia and neighbouring communities.
Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology - an integrated biotechnology-based institute that merges the skills of the engineer, chemist, biologist and computational scientist to work towards research that produces positive health and environmental outcomes.
Smart Therapies Institute - providing translational research capability that is not currently available in this country to position Australia as a world leader in health and medical research innovation.
Smart State Medical Research Centre - to enable expansion of the research and clinical development programs at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research.

We have also extended our commitment to funding world-class R&D and innovation through the allocation of a further $100 million to the existing $200 million Smart State Innovation Funds.

Queensland is also increasingly building the connections for collaborative effort between researchers.

Strategic international alliances are being created with the potential to bring in commercially skilled people, create opportunities for exchanges for Queensland researchers and staff, bring in outside investors and grow the value of Queensland companies and institutions. This is particularly important for Australia, which has a low level of industry R&D intensity and investment.

Your Smart State, your say

Our researchers and scientists will define our success as a Smart State, and over the past 10 years the Queensland Government has instigated a range of initiatives to build our R&D strengths.

Are the current Queensland R&D priorities (such as Tropical Opportunities) relevant for the future? What are the science and research priorities for the next 10-20 years?

To date, the Queensland Government has focused its R&D investment on infrastructure, skills and commercialisation. What is the right mix of R&D support the Queensland Government can provide into the future?

The Queensland Government has used programs such as the Innovation Projects Fund to encourage research-industry collaborations and increase business expenditure on R&D. What other measures could the government implement to facilitate these outcomes?

How can we build on our current fellowship and scholarship programs to attract and retain the brightest scientists, researchers, entrepreneurs and teachers in Queensland?

We welcome your feedback.

Our Smart State achievements

Our focused attention to research and strategic alliances is building our capacity to grow our existing industries. It is also leading us to make ground-breaking discoveries that are making a real difference in the world in health, primary industries, and the environment.

One of the exciting things about the development of Queensland as a centre for global research is the opportunity it provides for Queenslanders to build exciting careers. By bringing the world's best to Queensland we inspire young Queenslanders to be the world's best.

Expenditure on R&D by the Queensland Government is high by national standards.
As a share of Gross State Product the Queensland Government's expenditure compares well with other Australian states (2004-05).¹⁷

Share of the Gross State Product (%)

Research investment of $59 per person by the Queensland Government.
Queensland Government's research investment during 2004-05 of $59 per person was more than the $44 per person in NSW and $40 per person in Victoria. It was also 47 per cent higher than the Commonwealth Government research spending in Queensland at $40 per person.¹⁸

Business expenditure on R&D has been growing rapidly.
There was a growth of 161 per cent for business expenditure on R&D between 1997--1998 and 2005-06.¹⁹

More science, engineering, technology and health jobs.
More Queenslanders are working in disciplines requiring a background in science, engineering, technology or health - growing at 4.2 per cent per year over the last 10 years and growing faster than the rest of Australia at 3.1 per cent.²⁰

Our Queensland researchers are winning prestigious awards.
Professor John Mattick of the University of Queensland won the 2006 Eureka Prize for leadership in science, Professor Ian Frazer was named 2006 Australian of the Year, Professor Terry Hughes from James Cook University received the Eureka Prize in 2007 for environmental research for his work on coral reef ecology.

Future challenges

Queensland has a strong public sector R&D base, with calculations by the Queensland Chief Scientist indicating that 77 per cent of our R&D workers are employed in universities and other public sector research organisations. Additionally, the Queensland Government, recognising the importance of R&D, spends 23 per cent more per person on R&D than the average across Australia.

One of the significant challenges that remains is to continue increasing our business expenditure on R&D. In 2005-06 business expenditure on R&D was only 0.7 per cent of Gross State Product (GSP) compared with 1.1 per cent for Australia and 1.53 per cent in the OECD.

The Smart State Council has advised that if Queensland is to compete internationally with other knowledge-based economies and deliver long-term economic, social and environmental outcomes, it is critical to increase business investment in R&D.

Queensland Government programs and initiatives

The Innovation Building Fund is a component of the Smart State Innovation Funds that supports the construction of world-class research facilities. It has built on the Smart State Research Facilities Fund that, over four rounds, supported funding of $170 million to projects with a total project value of $576 million leveraging in excess of $406 million from other sources.

Investments in R&D can balance the needs of our environment with the growth of our industries. The $290 million investment in the establishment of the Ecosciences Precinct and the Health and Food Sciences Precinct will bring together the research capabilities of a number of Queensland Government agencies and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).

The Eco-sciences Precinct will focus on climate change, water issues, protecting our food supply, healthy environment and balanced growth. The Health and Food Sciences Precinct will focus on ways to help people live longer, healthier and more fulfilling lives through advances in healthcare, medicine, food and nutrition. Planning is well underway for these major precincts with construction scheduled to be completed in 2010.

The Queensland Government has placed the biotechnology industry as a strong priority within the Smart State Strategy. The Biotechnology Strategic Plan 2005-2015 - Biotechnology - Setting New Horizons sets out a 20-year vision and a five-year action plan to accelerate growth and develop Queensland into a regional hub for biotechnology.

Key initiatives funded under the plan include activities that will translate research into products and services for the world market.

BioPharmaceuticals Australia, constructed in Queensland, the first facility of its type in Australia to produce Australian-developed drugs.
Queensland Clinical Trials Network, a $5 million network providing a single point of contact for national and international companies seeking to undertake clinical trials. It aims to grow the clinical trials industry in Queensland to a $60 million industry by 2010.
Queensland Biotechnology Commercialisation Pipeline, a $1.4 million program to build the investment readiness of biotechnology venture projects. It is increasing the availability of early-stage financing and mentoring for Queensland biotechnology businesses.

A range of biotechnology international alliances are currently in place and new opportunities are being investigated to provide access to new markets, enabling Queensland to compete more effectively on a global scale.

In May 2006, Queensland and Washington State signed a Memorandum of Understanding to form collaborative alliances in the life sciences in research, development and commercialisation and science education. To date, five collaborative projects between Queensland and Washington have been funded under the Innovation Projects Fund to the value of $6.23 million. In addition, approximately 26 joint projects are under development.

Further collaboration between Queensland scientists includes the Queensland Climate Change Centre of Excellence working with two world-class climate science groups in the United Kingdom.

The Queensland Government's $70 million annual investment in R&D to improve productivity and competitiveness of agribusinesses in the beef, sheep, intensive animal, sugar, grains, horticulture, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture industries has leveraged an estimated $37 million in partner funds.

R&D for primary industries will be strengthened further through the new world-class bio-secure Centre for Advanced Animal Science being built by the Queensland Government and the University of Queensland at Gatton; and the state-of-the-art Queensland Crop Development Facilities at Redlands, a strategic collaboration between the Queensland Government, the University of Queensland and Queensland University of Technology.

The Queensland Government is utilising leading R&D to deliver its commitment to children, and to establish a world-class system of child protection. The Department of Child Safety has developed a suite of innovative research-related activities and hosted the inaugural Child Safety Research Conference with more than 300 delegates from government agencies and related non-government partners in child protection. This initiative is one of a number of strategies to enhance the dissemination and utilisation of research in child safety policy and practice development in Queensland.

Another Australian first - Queensland's Smart Therapies Institute

Building on our health and medical research strengths is a key plank of the Smart State agenda. The Queensland Government has committed up to $100 million to establish a new high-tech Smart Therapies Institute at the Princess Alexandra Hospital, which will support groundbreaking work such as the cervical cancer vaccine developed by 2006 Australian of the Year Professor Ian Frazer.

This Institute will provide critical capacity not currently available in this country, and position Australia as a world leader in health and medical research innovation. It will provide a unique opportunity for collaboration to transfer laboratory discoveries to realised health benefits. It will also enable researchers to test potential therapies arising from their discoveries, and for these results to influence further product development.

Solving global problems

Queensland research institutes are attracting much sought after attention and investment, for example from the prestigious international Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The Foundation has invested approximately $30.49 million in supporting three ground breaking research projects being undertaken by Queensland researchers:

$20 million has been awarded to Professor Alan Lopez from the University of Queensland to develop technologies that will improve global health through innovative strategies for population health measurement.
$9 million has been awarded to a team led by the University of Queensland's Professor Scott O'Neill for research into the prevention of dengue fever by shortening the lifespan of the mosquito that transmits the disease.
$1.49 million has been awarded to a team led by the Queensland University of Technology's Professor James Dale for a project that will attempt to improve the nutrition of the people of Uganda by genetically modifying Ugandan bananas so they contain increased levels of pro-Vitamin A, Vitamin E and Iron.

Queensland researchers making needles a thing of the past

A painful jab in the arm could be a thing of the past thanks to researchers at the University of Queensland's Australian Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology.

Instead of needles to deliver lifesaving vaccines, researchers are developing a small skin patch that contains tiny projections that transmit the vaccine below the surface of the skin. This new technology could make the adminstration of vaccines more cost effective and hygienic. Patches are also easier to store, transport and dispose. They also reduce the need for medical practitioners to be present to administer needles.

Not only does this mean that Queenslanders may soon not have to worry about needles, but this new technology also could have significant outcomes for underdeveloped countries. The technology would allow vaccination programs to reach a greater number of people, aiding the fight against diseases like malaria, HIV and tuberculosis.

This project highlights Queensland's expertise in the area of nanotechnology, an international market projected to be worth more than US$2 trillion by the year 2015.

The University of Queensland had been awarded over $1.2 million to work with an international team to develop the 'nanopatch' through an Innovation Projects Fund grant. When all other partner funding is included, the total project involves an investment of $3.5 million.

The University of Queensland will collaborate with the Seattle Biomedical Research Institute, the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH) and the World Health Organisation.

Critical mass in R&D expertise

Queensland is creating a critical mass of world-class research institutions. Of particular note is the Queensland Institute for Molecular Bioscience, which is recognised in Australia and overseas as a leading centre for molecular bioscience research. The Queensland Government has committed $140 million in funding to the Institute, which employs around 400 researchers. Outcomes from this investment to date include:

More than $105 million in research funding has been attracted to the Institute since its inception.
$40 million has been invested in commercial developments arising from the Institute's research.
10 new start-up companies have been added to the Queensland biotechnology sector.
Over 340 new jobs have been created with recruitment from Queensland, interstate and overseas.
Substantial contribution to national and international scientific and industry bodies, lifting the profile of biomedical science and biotechnology in Queensland.
Over 900 published research articles, resulting in 1724 citations per year.

Last reviewed 29 October 2007

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