Commercialising Queensland’s discoveries and innovations
It is the application and development of knowledge that produces wider economic, social and environmental benefits. The Government will continue to provide wide-ranging support for Queensland’s knowledge entrepreneurs and assist Queensland’s knowledge companies to grow their businesses from small scale operations to larger enterprises with higher export potential, product diversity and market resilience.
An important indicator of the inventiveness of an economy is the amount of patents granted per head of population. Queensland averaged a similar rate to the rest of Australia on this measure over the five years to 1993-94, at around 60 patents granted per one million residents. However, Queensland has moved ahead of the rest of Australia over the latest five years to 2002-03, with a rate of 68.5 patents granted per one million residents, compared with 64.1 in the rest of Australia.
Innovation is often referred to as the process of converting knowledge and ideas into new or improved products and services or better ways of doing business. However, successful development of our knowledge sector requires more than research and innovation. It needs a well thought out system that also embraces technology diffusion, investment, commercialisation, entrepreneurship and business promotion.
The Queensland Government is committed to changing the historical tendency of Australians to sell their ideas to overseas companies in return for licensing arrangements that fail to provide adequate opportunities for local firms to develop and manufacture the product.
Australian Institute for Commercialisation (AIC)The Australian Institute for Commercialisation was established in May 2002 with an investment of $10 million from the Queensland Government to help improve the process of commercialisation of intellectual property, generated by Queensland government agencies, universities and industry to add to the wealth creation of the State. The products and services being delivered by the Institute are leading to:
- researchers in government agencies and universities being better educated about commercialisation
- increased success in negotiating deals and securing capital
- access to commercialisation advice and expertise.
Through the development of programs such as Techfast, the Institute is working to help established, well performing technology-based Queensland small-medium enterprises (SMEs) accelerate into larger, sustainable, fast growing businesses through fast tracking the adoption of external technologies.
Queensland BioCapital Fund
The Queensland BioCapital Fund (QBF) is the major venture capital fund for the biotechnology industry in Queensland. In its two years of operation, the QBF has committed investments of $7.2 million in Queensland biotechnology companies Xenome and Glykoz.
Statewide Technology Incubation Strategy
The Government has committed $3.6 million to the continued operation of its technology incubators, i.lab and the Innovation Centre at the Sunshine Coast. It has also allocated $600 000 to establish an incubator at Cairns and a further $2 million to extend the success of these incubators to other regions of the State. The Statewide Technology Incubator Strategy was announced in November 2003 and will develop an integrated network of incubators catering specifically for high-technology, knowledge-intensive start up companies by early 2005.
Centre for New Foods – Commercialisation Network
The Premier announced establishment of the Centre in June 2004, with a Queensland Government investment of $3 million. This initiative will network existing players to develop and manage Queensland-based R&D and commercialisation to deliver new and innovative foods and capture an increased share of the $72 billion global functional foods market.
Queensland Clinical Trials Network
The Premier announced the Network in June 2004 to bring together Queensland’s key players in pre-clinical and clinical trials, to position Queensland as the preferred location for clinical trials in Australia. It will provide a one-stop-shop for Queensland by putting overseas and interstate researchers wanting to do clinical trials in touch with Queensland operators. With $5 million in Queensland Government seed funding, the Network aims to increase international and national investment in clinical trials in Queensland to $60 million by 2010.
Support for Queensland Knowledge Entrepreneurs
The Government is continuing to support the knowledge industries in Queensland through the provision of wide ranging support programs and initiatives.
The Government is helping early stage companies with essential seed capital through programs such as the $4.9 million Innovation Start-Up Scheme and the $3.2 million teQstart fund. These programs are providing vital support for the commercialisation of world-class Queensland innovations.
The Ideas 2 Market Program provides innovators, companies in the early stages of commercialisation, and investors within Queensland with an organised approach to their complete commercialisation education. The Program guides innovators through the commercialisation pathway, and assists them in gaining the necessary skills and knowledge to transfer their ideas to the market place.
The Government has invested $1.1 million in the provision of specialist advice for growing technology businesses across the State. This unique program delivers guidance for ICT firms facing issues affecting their growth.
This program closely aligns with the Financing Innovation Growth scheme, which provides a series of intensive business management programs tailored to the ICT and biotechnology industries. The Government has committed $1 million to continue the successful program through until 2007-08.
Development of the ICT industry across Queensland is also being facilitated through the Promoting ICT Adoption by Existing Industries initiative which aims to match Queensland ICT expertise with identified opportunities in established industries, and the Regional ICT Industry Development initiative.
The Government is supporting the growth of businesses that focus on capitalisation of research, development, design and engineering in networked, commercial communities at Brisbane Technology Park and Mt Gravatt Research Park.
Market Promotion
The Government also supports international marketing of Queensland’s research and knowledge-based products.
It provides funds through the International Tradeshow Assistance Program to ICT, biotechnology and other companies to attend international tradeshows, most notably the annual BIO events in North America (the world’s largest biotechnology trade show) to which the Premier has led successive delegations. The Premier has also led Queensland trade missions incorporating knowledge-based companies to Europe and Asia.
WebRaven is rising to the top of the e-Learning world thanks to its flagship product DOTS, a Dynamic Online Training System. From humble origins as a small family business in 1995, Brisbane-based WebRaven now competes with major US-based players for e-Learning bids – and wins. DOTS is an electronic learning management system that delivers and tracks students’ progress. Its range of features to create course content and exams, track skills and competencies, makes it suitable for use by both education providers and companies looking to monitor their staff’s professional development. WebRaven now boasts more than 100 clients across Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States including Zurich Financial Services, Crisp Publications (USA) and ABN AMRO Morgans Stockbroking. |