Australia lagging behind in innovation stakes
- 02 October, 2010 10:08
- Comments 3
Greater collaboration between business and technologists must take place if Australia is to become more innovative, claims Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) chairman, John Grant.
Grant spoke to a large crowd of IT professionals at the recent World Computer Congress 2010 in Brisbane, where he noted a number of recent studies indicate Australian businesses are largely falling behind when it comes to innovation.
“In the last eight years, Australia has slipped from eighth to 15th in the innovation stakes,” Grant said.
“Secondly, when we look at research and development as a percentage of GDP (gross domestic product), Australian ranks equal 16th in the world at 1.6 per cent.”
Grant said while technologists have recently found it hard to innovate, some in the industry have been ignoring the issue.
"Many of us face the challenge of achieving more with less and this is often unrelenting,” he said. “Most of us are technologists and as a result, have our heads buried on many issues.”
While some technologists may be ignoring the issue, Grant said the desire for innovation in Australia became clear during the recent Federal Election, in which the $43 billion National Broadband Network (NBN) was a deciding factor in which party formed government.
“While no political party had any major sway, the really clear outcome was that there will be a greater focus on ubiquitous high speed broadband,” he said. “These actions represent a huge shift in the direction of our country, but those in business have to take up the opportunities of innovation in technology, and we in technology have to help them in this process.”
Grant described the NBN as a chance for Australia to become more innovative.
“The NBN provides an opportunity for us to leap from the stagnant pond that we’ve been sitting in for a very long time,” he said. “One that has seen internet speeds and prices at the worst ends of the global spectrum, and will become the focal point from which many initiatives innovation can spawn.”
Grant concluded by saying innovation was not one sector’s job, but rather a collaborative effort between business, government and technologists.
“Overall, as an Australian, it’s hard not to be concerned by these statistics, particularly in terms of our future, we’re most likely following rather than leading change,” he said. “Adoption of innovation must occur in businesses, government and organisations across Australia.”
Grant’s insights came as founder of Classroom 2.0, Steve Hargadon, also addressed the congress, noting schools are struggling to be innovative and implement creative learning methodologies in the classroom.
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Comments
Louis Leahy
Our experience is that there is a culture of prejudice in IT against anyone who is not from a scientific or engineering background this is primarily what is holding back innovation. There appears to be a preponderance to dismiss that which cannot be understood in one or two sentences or that is different. Developments should be assessed based on their merit not based on who derived them, who funded them, who owns them or who is on the board of management. As long as this narrow minded approach persists innovation will be held back. We presented a paper for inclusion in this conference for our technology which we believe is ground braking yet it was rejected because essentially it was not a scientific paper. We find this a particularly objectionable circumstance given that Australian public funds and support was provided to holding this event and they claimed in their marketing to be supporting Australian industry. A lot of business processes & services innovation will not come from, the scientific or academic sectors, it will come from small private sector companies such as ours that endeavor to apply technology to every day mundane real world situations that will never attract lucrative research grants, however if big business, academia and government continue to turn their noses up at the ideas of small companies such as ours in this country without proper assessment based on merit we will continue to loose out to our competitors.
RS
We lag... so what's the oppositions plan to thwart it?
Can the NBN...LOL!
Kevin Wohling
What opportunity remains to innovate in commercial IT ?
Innovation occurs in response to commercial opportunity. The ideas are out there but they will not emerge unless there is a market that can fund the sustained developed required to create world class solutions. As long as Australian enterprises, and Government in particular, preordain long-proven COTS solutions for the most trivial needs for no reason other than covering their backsides, this will only continue to get worse.
The only space where innovation is allowed is in the scientific or emerging technologies fields where risk is taken as a given. Is this mandated by legislation, or policy or even sensible commercial restraint ? NO. It is dictated by the prevalence of fear of taking a risk. This is definative restraint and prevention of innovation due to a growing assumption that "noone ever got fired for buying a COTS solution".
We are deliberately handing the keys to the future to the global software companies and they will continue to do what their shareholders demand. They will constrain their costs, minimise their investments and maximise their returns.
Innovation results from creative vision from people who do not accept that the status quo is the best we can do. They are out there, they always have been. Ask them to innovate to deliver more with less and they will do it.
The risk we are taking by not supporting them is ultimately far greater. We are destined to become "followers" of more forward thinking countries who seek to be better, not equal.
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