Developed in partnership with the Business Council of Australia, the report focuses on one of the greatest innovation challenges – translating research into scalable, commercial outcomes.
The report draws on interviews and case studies from executives at some of Australia’s largest and most innovative businesses, including Atlassian, Boeing, Dulux Group, Coles and Google.
This practical guide looks at existing research on ways organisations can become ‘innovation active’. Whether a small or medium-sized enterprise or large corporate, innovation active companies are twice as likely to report increased productivity than non-innovating companies, and almost all are able to point to tangible benefits like improved customer service or increased revenue.
Translating research into scalable, commercial outcomes is within our reach if we overcome the barriers and focus on the enablers below.
Download the report
- Unlocking the innovation potential of Australian companies PDF (6 MB)
- Unlocking the innovation potential of Australian companies (Accessible text) TXT (164 KB)
| Barriers to commercialisation | Enablers to overcome the barriers |
|---|---|
| Low levels of cross-sector collaboration This hinders both the translation of science and technology research into commercial outcomes and the adoption of new ideas from one sector to another. |
Collaboration This is both an enabler in its own right and an important way to achieve some of the enablers. Collaboration helps to support early-stage research, translate and commercialise emerging science and technology, and increase adoption |
| Lack of comprehensive innovation strategy and targeted investment Prevents industry achieving greater commercial outcomes at scale from science and technology. |
Long term strategy and targeted investment The most successful innovating companies have a clear innovation strategy that supports their strategy and prioritises targeted areas of investment. |
| Culture, risk aversion and incentives misalignment A risk-averse cultural environment, with misaligned incentives, is less likely to support and invest in innovation, trial new processes, and adopt and implement new technologies. |
Culture, risk sharing and alignment of incentives Innovation 'starts at the top', and companies that address the cultural aspects of innovation projects, as well as the alignment of incentives, are more likely to see their projects progress. |
| Talent and skills capability mismatches Skillsets are underutilised and misaligned in areas needed for commercialisation of emerging science and technology opportunities. |
Skills, talent and capability building These are all required to successfully develop and deliver an innovation project. |