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The Australian Innovation Systems Study. Aims to identify and assess: the characteristics, strengths and weaknesses of Australia's national innovation system.the recent evolution of the Australian innovation system the impacts of structural change, government policy, technological change and glob
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2. The Australian Innovation Systems Study Aims to identify and assess:
the characteristics, strengths and weaknesses of Australia’s national innovation system.
the recent evolution of the Australian innovation system
the impacts of structural change, government policy, technological change and globalisation.
Supported by the:
Australian Research Council through the ARC Linkage Program
Australian Business Foundation,
Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources,
Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry,
National Office of the Information Economy
CSIRO.
A 3 year study- this paper reports on the main findings of the first year of the study. Other Working Papers from the study available on request.
3. Innovation is: pervasive across sectors,
non-linear - only rarely driven directly by science and R&D,
usually incremental,
sectorally specific,
often characterised by collaboration and interaction,
driven above all by technological competition
non-R&D aspects of innovation – market research, training and competence building, design, etc
Increasing ‘systemness’ – multi-actor, multicomponent, multitechnology and based on distributed learning;
4. Innovation Systems innovation is shaped by factors external to the firm eg institutional constraints, regulatory frameworks, nationally specific customs and habits, collaboration patterns, and processes of interactive learning;
firms, related organisations, competences and technologies co-evolve;
these and related phenomena are persistent over time and systemic in character – path dependence;
innovation is learning, so the innovation system can be conceptualised as the institutions and organizations that shape learning and competence building;
many of these, even in the age of globalization, are national (or regional) in character and often the object of discretionary policy decisions
The Innovation System shapes the direction and level of innovative effort, the response to major new technological and commercial changes and the roles of government actors.
5. National Innovation Systems Key components include:
firms
the education and training systems,
knowledge infrastructures (universities, R&D institutes, standards agencies, regulation systems, etc),
physical infrastructures,
public macro-micro policy systems.
In the context of the historically evolved industrial structures, pattern of technological specialization, trade and investment structure.
What really matters are the dynamic constraints and opportunities at any point in time .
6. Innovation Systems: Two Approaches National level innovation processes: inputs and outputs. But how useful are ‘traditional’ innovation indicators in the case of Australia?
Actor-focused studies at the sectoral, regional or technology level. But very little such work has been done in Australia
These approaches are complementary and inter-dependent
7. Australia: Dynamic and Structural Issues Diversity- how to aggregate usefully?
several cities distant from each other.
temperate, tropical and semi-arid agriculture .
Mining -coal, iron ore, gold, aluminium, silver, mineral sands, nickel, diamonds.
Historical legacy.
Import substitution regime
Missed the surge in manufacturing exports of the post-war years.
Industry structure.
large resource sector
small and shrinking manufacturing – esp high tech;
large services sector
Firm size.
high proportion of small firms
Trade.
Low trade intensity
Specialisation.
low level of technological specialisation for a small economy –
specialisation is in ag., primary metals, mining and oil & gas- a pattern similar to Canada and Norway
Foreign ownership.
high, and particularly high in the R&D intensive sectors.
8. Australia's Innovation Performance Compared to OECD Average. [How useful are these aggregates?]
9. The Laggard Perspective The Australian economy maintains a high level of dependence on natural resources and is failing to develop new areas of specialisation and growth.
Recent productivity growth the result of one-offs: micro-economic & ICT
This performance masks underlying weaknesses in new firm formation and in the growth of new internationally competitive industries.
The poor performance of Australian firms in R&D and patenting signals the weaknesses in management, scale and international positioning.
Australia’s declining position in ‘high tech’ sectors indicates the extent to which Australia is being left behind the frontier of innovation and growth in the world economy.
One of the lowest in the OECD in
BERD
investment in venture capital;
International patenting activity (per mill. Population)
80% of the top fifteen export products are resource-based commodities
with a low level of processing;
large and growing trade deficit in ICT products and services
10. The Boom Perspective Australia is a broadly based dynamic and flexible economy, diversified across markets, and increasingly sectors, underpinned by competitive domestic markets and flexible labour markets.
High-level human resources and strong research organisations facilitate the rapid uptake of new knowledge produced anywhere.
Imported knowledge and equipment combined with local knowledge and capability supports active problem solving and systems integration in a range of sectors generating relatively high levels of productivity.
A ‘fast-user’ strategy combined with natural and human resources is a sound basis for future prosperity.
High and increasing productivity;
Relatively high level of public sector R&D [R&D intensity in some sectors > the OECD av.];
Substantial growth in niches markets in key manufacturing sectors: telecom equipment, wine, boats, automobiles and components;
Maintaining strong competitiveness in resources sectors through the effective application of new technology, including IT;
A strong ICT services sector and high growth in ‘knowledge based services’;
Rapid and broadly-based uptake of new ICT.
11. Characteristics of Australian Innovation-1 Regional Differences
and the Growing Role of ICT
Services now >50% of BERD and growing.
12. Major industries (ANZSIC) engaged in R&D, 2000-01 (%GDP)
13. Major R&D fields of technological skills (RF), 2000-01 (%GDP)
14. Vic business — Major R&D technological skills base (RF), 2000-01 (%GDP)
15. Qld business — Major R&D technological skills base (RF), 2000-01 (%GDP)
16. Characteristics of Australian Innovation - 2 Conservative
Scientific strengths
Technological specialisation
Patenting behaviour
Specialisation in export products
Path Dependency
Increasing returns
17. Changes in ‘revealed comparative advantage’ in Australian scientific publications output in four periods
21. Science Linkage vs. Technology Cycle Time (1980-2001)
22. Revealed Comparative Advantage of Australia’s Exports - selected commodities:1971-80, 1981-90, 1991-2000
23. Characteristics of Australian Innovation - 2 Conservativeness in the Innovation System
Summary:
Australia is specialised in sectors that are slow growing and have relatively low patenting levels. Over the past 20 years Australia has become relatively more specialised in these sectors.
24. Characteristics of Australian Innovation Systems Integration Plus
No core technology production
Problem solving –sophisticated but often unique
Technology mobilisation for resource based industries and services
ICT diffusion through the innovation system
25. Some Policy Issues
26. Policy Analysis
