The 2024 Queensland Innovation Advisory Council

Introducing the 2024 Queensland Innovation Advisory Council

The members of the 2024 Queensland Innovation Advisory Council were announced last week. As one of the members, I look forward to working with colleagues I have known over the years and getting to know others as we provide advice, connect ecosystems, and support the state's future direction.

I am keen to make the most of the opportunity for the IAC, for the state, and for each community across Queensland's innovation ecosystem. I see the position as a conduit and a facilitation for conversation. not just within Queensland, but connected across Australia and the world.

Clarity and transparency will help realise this outcome. With that in mind, below is an overview of the IAC members and terms of reference, reflections on how the IAC might be leveraged, and the state of the innovation ecosystem.

The members

The twelve members of the Queensland IAC are below with descriptions and positions as listed on LinkedIn (they may hold other positions as well not currently listed). In addition to their current roles, each member brings a depth of experience across sectors, functions, technologies, and areas of impact.

• Peter Ball : Founder / Managing Director Impact Academy and Greater Outcomes
• Craig Baillie : General Manager, Applied Research Development & Extension (GRDC)
• Georgia Barkell : Managing Partner at Sprint Ventures | GAICD | Chartered Accountant | Experienced in Startups, Investing, Responsible Investing, Funds and Portfolio Management | Board Observer at Clipboard
• Nicole Dyson : Founder & CEOFounder & CEO at Future Anything | Founder at Catapult Cards | Founder at YouthX | Australian Delegate at G20 Young Entrepreneurs Alliance | Multi Award Winning Educator + Entrepreneur | Keynote Speaker | 2023 Snow Entrepreneur | 40 Under 40 | Australia's Most Influential Educators 2023 | SBE 'Unsung Hero' Award 2022
• Nicole M. Forrester : VP Purpose, People & Culture, APAC at Fujitsu Asia Pacific | Gender Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee Member at Australia Japan Business Co-operation Committee (AJBCC)
• Sharon Hunneybell : Chief Executive Officer at The Gold Coast Innovation Hub | Industry FellowIndustry Fellow at Griffith University | Chief Technology Officer at Frethan Technology | Business Advisor at IndyForms | Managing Director at Scale Innovations | AFR 100 Women of Influence
• Annie Lawrence : Head of Industry Advancement at Moreton Bay Regional Council
• Kalair McArthur GAICD : Mentor and Participant at Australian Rural Leadership Foundation | Managing Director at Rural and Remote Development Consultants | Audit and Risk Committee Member at The Hospital Research Foundation Group | Board Member at Qantas Founders Museum | Acting Chair at CQShines - Better Health. Brighter Futures. Central Queensland Hospital Foundation | Steering Committee Member at Naturally Capricorn
• Miranda Mears GAICD : President at Townsville Chamber of Commerce | Cyber Risk Governance Director; Critical Technology Strategist; Strategic Advisor at Australian Impact Group / Cyber Sense
• Brad Parsons : Ecosystem Orchestrator at Rely Ability | Founder at MOVUS | Member, Manufacturing Council Advisory Committee at CSIRO
• Chad Renando : Research Fellow (Innovation Ecosystems) at the University of Southern Queensland | Chair at Global Entrepreneurship Network Australia | Managing Director, Founder at Startup Status
• Terry Woodcroft : Non-executive Director | Technology business builder and adviser | ex-CEO Aurtra (acquired Schneider Electric)

The twelve members represent over 30 focus areas across sectors, functions, technologies, and impact areas. Two-thirds of the members are female and reflect a range of ages and backgrounds.

That said, the innovation ecosystem is diverse beyond what might be represented by 12 individuals. The committee was selected through an open expression of interest and nomination process and may also have been constrained by who might have been available at the time. I know a few potential candidates whom I sent the opportunity to have to pass due to capacity or perceived conflicts of interest.

Part of the role of the IAC is to ensure there is a conduit into and from the diverse corners of the innovation ecosystem. Looking through the members' backgrounds, we see that they have experience and access in a range of areas. We also acknowledge that one individual does not reflect the diverse voice of each area. Craig has a depth of insight across agriculture, Peter understands the intricacies of social impact, Nicole has committed her career to supporting youth, and Kalair is a leader across regional communities. However, their positions also offer access to the diversity and intersectionality inherent in these fields that extend beyond their first-hand experience.

Additional effort and structures may be required where there is no direct physical representation, such as a specific geographic region, a demographic community, or a function such as a type of incubator. Innovation is broad, encompassing regional business retailers gaining digital skills for diversification, the researcher commercialising new intellectual property, a startup founder accessing funding and scaling to new markets, and a region navigating a decarbonisation transition.

The IAC Terms of Reference allow the structure of subcommittees to focus on key areas and bring in invited participants. These may be good vehicles for providing further representation or addressing significant topics.

The mock-up below reflects just some of the focus areas reflected in the IAC members' backgrounds and where they are based per their LinkedIn profile.

Innovation Advisory Council Terms of Reference

So what does the IAC do, and what are its parameters? These are outlined in the Terms of Reference, some of which I comment on below.

Purpose

The purpose of the Innovation Advisory Council (IAC) is to provide independent expert advice on policy, activity, initiatives, partnerships and programs to accelerate entrepreneurship and innovation in Queensland, which will help grow an inclusive and sustainable Queensland economy and community to create globally competitive industries, businesses and jobs.

The IAC reports to the Minister for Innovation (the Responsible Minister) and is supported a Secretariat within the Innovation Division of the Department of Environment, Science and Innovation.

I note a few points. First, the IAC is independent, meaning we are not government employees or affiliated with a particular political position. Second, we have a clear and broad yet focused mandate regarding "policy, activity, initiatives, partnerships and programs to accelerate entrepreneurship and innovation in Queensland." Third, we have a clear and shared measure of success to "grow an inclusive and sustainable Queensland economy and community to create globally competitive industries, businesses and jobs."

Role

Our role is to provide advice, connection, support, influence, collaboration, and engagement. Specific conduits include interaction with the relevant government Minister and state government stakeholders, the Queensland Chief Entrepreneur, related roles of the Queensland Chief Scientist, Queensland Small Business Commissioner and Queensland’s Chief Customer and Digital Officer. Other priority areas identified include regional communities and advising on the delivery of the Advance Queensland Roadmap.

• Provide independent expert advice to the Responsible Minister, the Government and innovation ecosystem stakeholders to accelerate innovation and entrepreneurship.
• Support the Queensland Chief Entrepreneur (QCE) in their engagements across the ecosystem.
• Influence and advance the Government’s innovation and entrepreneurship policy priorities, programs and investment agenda by providing insights and expertise.
• Work with the Queensland Chief Scientist, Queensland Small Business Commissioner and Queensland’s Chief Customer and Digital Officer to collaborate on innovation opportunities that will have maximum impact for Queensland.
• Connect and energise stakeholders to encourage collaboration in a safe, inclusive and diverse ecosystem.
• Advise on opportunities for regional innovation, entrepreneurship, jobs growth and new businesses, increasing the economic prosperity and sustainability of regional cities, towns, communities, businesses and families.
• Engage across the ecosystem to hear and communicate Queensland’s unique innovation and entrepreneurship story to inspire, connect people, and build the Queensland’s domestic and international reputation as the place for innovation.
• Advise on delivery of the Advance Queensland – Innovation for a Future Economy 2022-2032 Roadmap.

Membership

The IAC is capped at 12 members and is intended to reflect Queensland's diversity and regionality. Membership is assigned up to two years and members must reside in Queensland and work for, or operate, an entity based in Queensland.

Members will be inclusive and collaborative individuals who play significant leadership roles in the ecosystem, have recognised contemporary knowledge and/or experience of innovation and/or entrepreneurship, are willing to engage and use their networks to benefit Queensland’s ecosystem and the interest of Queenslanders.

The expected commitment is around 1.5 days per month, excluding travel, and at least four meetings and no more than eight meetings per year. A minimum of two meetings will be held regionally outside South East Queensland. Participation on the IAC is voluntary and not remunerated.

I expect other members to be similar in that representing and advising on the Queensland ecosystem is as much who we are as it is what we do. I also acknowledge that many members have a diverse portfolio of roles, and capacity can often be stretched. I know that each member is passionate about their field and their contribution.

My contribution, hopes, and vision

Background

Each member of the IAC brings their strengths and specialist capabilities. If I were to describe mine, it would be in understanding innovation ecosystems, place-based transition, and program evaluation. I also bring perspectives from each of the roles I have held in small business, government, not-for-profit, and universities.

My background is diverse, including management roles in printed circuit board manufacturing companies in the US and Australia; digital agencies in Melbourne and Queensland; various not-for-profit board and committee roles related to innovation, youth, and volunteering; consulting in leadership and organisational development; state government roles in environmental sustainability; and a tour as a submarine sonar technician in the US Navy.

More recently, my path into the Australian innovation ecosystem kicked off by managing the Ipswich Fire Station 101 innovation hub, supporting data in the Queensland Chief Entrepreneurs Office for the first two Chief Entrepreneurs, and a PhD on the contribution of the innovation hub and innovation ecosystem more broadly on community resilience in rural economies.

My roles now include Research Fellow at the Rural Economies Centre of Excellence at UniSQ, Managing Director at Startup Status where we map actors and policy in the Australian innovation ecosystem, Chair for the Global Entrepreneurship Network Australia, and co-founder of the two-year place-based program Ready Communities with the pilot culminating this September in Kempsey, NSW. Projects I am involved in include leading the technology theme for the Queensland Decarbonisation Hub, evaluation for the Southern Queensland Northern New South Wales Drought Innovation Hub, evaluation for the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation's programs, and mapping work with AusAgritech and Agrifutures.

While this may seem broad, there are also large gaps where I look forward to the wisdom of the other IAC members. I do not have in-depth investment or research translation experience, a deep agriculture or mining background, or long-term knowledge from working in local government innovation portfolios. I research and work in rural communities, but my home base is in an outer metro suburb of Ipswich. I have experience in delivering innovation programs in one community, but we need diverse perspectives from other communities. I work and seek to understand diverse communities, but my worldview is framed by my identity as a Caucasian 52-year-old male. I am excited about the richness the IAC will bring to perspectives about Queensland innovation.

Thoughts on the future

My current focus is supporting Australia's maturing ecosystem at the cross-section of economic development and community development. I shared some of this at the recent Tropic Innovation Festival in Cairns, where we spoke about building successful ecosystems and successful ecosystems in 2024 and beyond.

The question I posed back to the audience was how we define success and for whom. For example, communities often refer to "silos" of activity. We saw this in the early stages of the Australian innovation ecosystem growth, where the innovation ecosystem seemed to be isolated from traditional economic development and, at times, oppositional to other areas of community development such as social services and health.

These silos can be beneficial for rapid growth of a focus area and are a natural response to competitive tensions from scarce resources. We saw this with the explosion of hubs and spaces from 2015 to 2019.

However, there will also be challenges in the ecosystem that is exasperated by growth. Friction from thin networks results in increased inefficiencies as the ecosystem matures. Individually, each silo is not sustainable and has to replicate services to address shared challenges. There is also low redundancy of key resources in low-population areas. The result is duplication of effort and increased competition as the local and global trends of climate, equality, technology and industry transition, recovery, and resilience are experienced by diverse industry sectors, demographic groups, and functional services.

Where we are headed, I feel, is toward an increasingly integrated approach. In 2016, researchers acknowledged that many policies that enable entrepreneur ecosystems look nothing like innovation policies, such as support for child care or education services. We also must acknowledge that inequality is an inevitability of innovation in developed economies. Innovation accelerates the capital mandate of progress, providing the most opportunity for those who already have access. The mitigation for this is an intentional integration of social impact into innovation policies.

So where does that leave us? My presentation in Cairns covered a few areas where I think, or perhaps idealistically hope, we are headed as a state and a nation.

Hubs --> Ecosystems --> Placemaking

First, while we have moved from individual hubs to the concept of ecosystems, I am seeing increased acknowledgement of holistic placemaking. We need to consider the total life cycle of the entrepreneur across the socio-economic spectrum and the interconnected and systemic nature of the work to be done.

Innovation in hubs --> Innovation anywhere

Second, innovation is not isolated to hubs or spaces, any more than physical fitness is specific to sports fields or community compassion the domain of religious or social service buildings. Innovation acceleration is seen in pubs, coffee shops, corporations, schools, and wherever people gather to develop new ideas.

Anyone can be an entrepreneur --> Specialisation and segmentation

Third, rather than all things to all people, we see an increased focus of innovation and entrepreneurship applied to sector and impact-specific challenges. These focus areas such as drought, climate, Indigenous, tourism, and specific verticals within each help attract specific investment and excitement.

Self-sufficiency --> Collective impact investment

Fourth, I hope we put to bed the myth that innovation efforts are self-sustaining, particularly in periphery communities based on demographics or geography. Innovation funding in the mid-2010s often referenced a three-year path to sustainability for government-funded efforts. The challenge is that innovative work will always need diverse input from the five main sources of government, university, risk capital, corporations and industry, and philanthropy. And yes, I include passionate leaders volunteering and sacrificing their salary as philanthropy. There is increased awareness of the need for collective impact investment models and structures that distribute both investment and outcomes.

Dedicated innovation role --> Diverse roles as backbones

Fifth, early innovation leadership was often relegated to one individual or a role, such as the local innovation hub. As innovation integrates across roles, we increasingly see other roles play the part of local facilitators, such as economic development organisations or community foundations. We are also seeing dedicated structures known as backbone entities that act as a facilitator for collective impact focused on local innovation, entrepreneurship, and economic diversification integrated with social impact.

Top-down institutions --> Community and co-created leadership

Sixth, innovation is not the sole mandate of large institutions such as government, universities, or large corporations. These entities are necessarily bureaucratic, given their use of public funds, risk profile, and size. There is an increase in terms such as 'co-create' and 'community-led' that needs to be balanced with institution-supported and enabled. Philanthropic foundations may play an increasingly interesting role in this space.

What's next?

My thoughts above are not so much a structured thesis as they are top-of-mind reflections at a point in time. Everything is draft and always open to challenge, refinement, and alignment with the work of others. I very much look forward to building in public with you and the other members of the IAC.

For now, the IAC will hear more about our first meeting and agenda. I expect this will be in the next couple of months as we align calendars.

I look forward to sharing the journey with you as we work collectively to advance opportunities and impact for everyone in Queensland through innovation and entrepreneurship.