What Vehicle is the Australian Innovation Ecosystem?

An innovation ecosystem can be likened to a vehicle, because it consists of:

Components: Just as a vehicle is made up of various components like the engine, wheels, transmission, and chassis, an innovation ecosystem comprises diverse elements such as research institutions, startups, government support, funding mechanisms, skilled workforce, infrastructure, and regulatory frameworks.

Functionality: Both a vehicle and an innovation ecosystem serve specific functions. A vehicle provides transportation, while an innovation ecosystem facilitates the development, commercialization, and diffusion of new ideas, technologies, and products.

Fuel: Just as a vehicle needs fuel to operate, an innovation ecosystem requires resources such as funding, talent, and support mechanisms to thrive.

Direction: A vehicle needs a driver to navigate it towards a destination. Similarly, leadership and strategic direction are essential for an innovation ecosystem to achieve its goals and address societal challenges effectively.

Maintenance: Like a vehicle needs regular maintenance to function optimally, an innovation ecosystem requires ongoing nurturing and support. This includes policies that encourage innovation, investments in research and development, and efforts to build a supportive culture for entrepreneurship and risk-taking.

Interconnectedness: In a vehicle, all components work together to ensure smooth operation. Similarly, in an innovation ecosystem, the various stakeholders collaborate and interact to drive innovation forward. This interconnectedness fosters knowledge exchange, collaboration, and the cross-pollination of ideas.

So what is Australia's vehicle?

Unfortunately, the vehicle we currently drive in Australia is a 60 year old FB Holden (see Figure above). The FB Holden had a fuel economy of 14L per 100 km and generated 56kw. Today's, a vehicle with the same power (Mitsubishi Mirage 57Kw) consumes less than half the amount of fuel at 6L per 100km. Alternatively, for more fuel (but less than the FB at 11L per 100km) we have a BMW M5 Competition than generates 460 kW - more than 8 times the power.

The "fuel economy" of an innovation ecosystem is called innovation efficiency.

It measures what you get out (innovation outputs) from what you put in.

In the 2018 WIPO Global Innovation Index (GII) Report for Australia

Australia’s main weakness is the Innovation Efficiency Ratio which ranks 76th globally.

In the 2023 WIPO Global Innovation Index (GII) Report for Australia

Australia performs worse in innovation outputs than innovation inputs in 2023.

So despite substantial innovation investment, we struggle to yield significant outcomes. This resonates with evidence indicating that while Australia excels in knowledge creation (inventions), we encounter difficulties in knowledge translation (commercialization), resulting in ineffective monetization of our inventions.

Australia is behind the wheel of a gas-guzzling bomb!

Given this ROI it is not surprising that business in not keen to invest.

So how do we upgrade Australia's vehicle?

The "innovation vehicle" has two main components to deliver innovation:

• the engine, representing academia (where innovation is created) and
• the transmission, representing industry (where innovation is translated)

While it's possible to simply add a turbocharger to the engine to boost power output, akin to increasing publications, this won't necessarily enhance fuel efficiency, the ultimate outcome.

And the evidence would suggest that Australia has quite a good engine.

Around five Australian universities make it to the top 50 universities in the world - QS World Universities Rankings

So despite limited R&D funding (fuel) our engine can create substantial power.

In Australia, the issue lies in how we distribute the power to the transmission (and then through the wheels to the road) and the lack of communication between the various components of the system.

Enhancing the vehicle's performance necessitates ensuring proper coupling of the engine and transmission, alongside upgrades to the brakes, steering, suspension, and tires. However, to improve fuel efficiency, it's crucial to achieve precise fuel combustion. Unlike modern setups, the FB Holden lacks sensors or actuators to monitor or control the air-fuel mixture and exhaust conditions when fuel enters the carburetor upon acceleration.

Install a Vehicle Management Systems (VMS)

Today fuel efficiency is primarily achieved through sophisticated Vehicle Management System (VMS), which include: the engine management system (EMS), transmission control system, anti-lock braking system (ABS), traction control system (TCS), electronic stability control (ESC), and regenerative braking. It integrates and coordinates the operation of these systems to ensure safe, efficient, and reliable vehicle operation in various driving conditions. It monitors and controls parameters related to engine performance, transmission shifting, braking, traction, stability, and other vehicle functions.

The overall performance and fuel efficiency of the vehicle lies in the seamless communication and coordination among all its parts, working in harmony to achieve optimal performance.

Hence, to improve the performance of our innovation ecosystem, as well as modernising the various component, it is essential that we create seamless communications and coordination across our innovation ecosystem.

To do this we need to:

1. Sensor Deployment: Install sensors to measure innovation metrics.
2. Digital Infrastructure: Establish a nationwide digital network for data transmission.
3. Standardized Protocol: Agree on a common communications standard.
4. Intelligent Management: Implement AI-driven systems for data analysis and decision making.

It is noteworthy, that by 2030 40% of the value a car will be in software .

Perhaps this could be true for our innovation ecosystem.

PostScript

Following my retirement from CSIRO three years ago, I found the opportunity to contemplate my own innovation journey. What became apparent to me was:

• Innovation in Australia is dominated by the inbound innovation.
• It can be difficult to establish who is responsible for commercialisation .
• Innovation is team sport which can be a long convoluted process.
• Innovation is often Hidden, Fragmented and Unconnected.
• And finally, the Australian Innovation ecosystem appears to be broken.

Lately, I've invested time in reviewing several reports on Australian innovation. What strikes me is the quality of these reports - many effectively pinpoint the issues and offer substantial solutions.

And yet little to no action is actually taken.

We keep coming back to the same old solutions (Maslow's Hammer )

It's evident that simply increasing funding for academia won't enhance the efficiency of our innovation ecosystem. While it may extend resources, it won't necessarily improve efficiency. To improve efficiency we need to bolster the capability of our industry and intelligently connect the components of the ecosystem - we need to build a National Innovation Management System.

Over time, I've noticed that the term "innovation" is frequently misused and misunderstood. To clarify its meaning, I've chosen the metaphor of a vehicle.

Unfortunately this metaphor is not perfect - it gives the impression that innovation is linear - from the engine, to the drive train, to the road (this is called the technology push model). In reality, innovation is often market pull, or it can much more complicated - network innovation, open innovations etc.

Observations

1. If find it odd, that whilst many are calling upon innovation to support manufacturing, very few people are thinking about how manufacturing can support innovation - at least the principles and capability for manufacturing. This is similar to the comments from Dr Alan Finkel Reversing the flow - What can Manufacturing teach AI
2. The Innovation Metrics report appears to have been abandoned.

“The scorecard and the recommendations in the Innovation Metric Review will help the government appreciate where its return on investment resides,” Dr Finkel said.