Australia would benefit greatly from a scheme that coordinates and incentivises the translation of Australia’s world leading research for commercial benefit.
However, a scheme that focuses on universities alone is unlikely to be effective at boosting the translation of Australia’s world leading research for commercial benefit.
Universities are only one piece of Australia’s innovation puzzle, and they are not always well-equipped to judge the relative likelihood of commercial success for a particular piece of research. Many universities may not currently have the financial resources to identify the best ideas to fund or the most efficient and effective pathway to commercialise research, particularly considering the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the higher education sector.
To be successful the scheme must include industry, and it must provide incentives for industry to invest in, and benefit from, Australian research. To achieve this, government policy on research commercialisation must raise its gaze to the level of Australia’s innovation system. Only at this level can systemic barriers to realising the commercial benefit of research be effectively addressed.
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