What can Australia learn from UK innovation?

As the Australian representative for the UK Science and Innovation Network one of my responsibilities is to promote the UK’s scientific excellence in Australia. Fortunately for me, both countries have a long history of collaboration and an excellent pedigree in science. I am proud to promote the achievements of both my native and (professionally) adopted countries.

But one area where the UK seems to be doing better is innovation, which is the translation of scientific discovery into business. Strategic, prioritised investments in research, infrastructure and global collaboration are a priority for the UK. The centrepiece of its innovation system, the Catapult Centres, are successfully helping researchers, businesses and government to work together to commercialise their ideas.

Indeed, recent changes to innovation policy have helped improve the UK’s position as a global innovation leader. This year, the UK ranked second in the World Intellectual Property Organisation’s Global Innovation Index, which aims to rank 141 countries and economies according to their innovation capabilities and achievements. That put the UK ahead of traditionally strong performers such as the US (5), Singapore (7) and Germany (12).

Looking at individual indicators, the UK ranks first for quality of universities and scientific publications, third for online creativity, and fourth for ease of protecting investment, logistics performance and intensity of local competition – a clear reflection of the UK’s world-class environment for scientific excellence and business innovation.

What about Australia? It placed a respectable 17^th this year. Australian policy makers recognise the quality of its researchers but acknowledge that Australia can do better when it comes to business innovation. That’s why the Australian government has released a strategy to boost commercial returns on research investment, focusing on research priorities, infrastructure and collaboration. This is a positive step toward a more successful innovation system that is better able to harness Australia’s famous ingenuity as a driver for economic growth.

And this is where the UK’s innovation experience can be a hugely positive influence. The new Australian Industry Growth Centres are partly based on the UK Catapult Centre model, and I am exploring the potential for collaboration between centres with similar or complementary interests. Other elements of the UK innovation system, such as Innovate UK, technology priorities and international collaboration policies, offer further valuable models for Australia to consider.

Translating scientific excellence into solid economic outcomes is never going to be easy. But, by working together, we can help build world-class innovation systems that deliver on the boundless promise of human ingenuity.