The Federal government has asked the Innovation and Science Australia (ISA) to devise a plan to make Australia a leading innovation nation by 2030. In the 2030 Strategic Plan Issues paper, the independent body mentions that the government plays a significant role in the lives of the nation’s citizens. Also, it is a prominent part of Australia’s national innovation system with research agencies being a major contributor to the generation of new knowledge. The paper further adds,
Our public institutions must become synonymous with innovation to provide its citizens with ever greater public value.
By 2030, the agency wants the government to lead by example and believes that unleashing the innovation potential of public entities will result in benefits, both, inside and outside the service. For this, they need to put in more efforts to adopt innovation and help the industry sectors to step into the future.
ISA, which has been tasked by the government to research, plan, and advise it on all science, research and innovation matters, has accentuated six challenges it considers important in shaping the strategy. It noted that the government should keep on evaluating the value being delivered to the public, and seek to be dynamic and innovative in the way it achieves this.
Since the government spending depicts a major share of Australia’s gross domestic product (GDP), ISA advocates the government to lessen the cost of doing business with it, for example, simplifying procurement and compliance obligations.
Directing the focus at underlying trends and forces instead of the outcomes, ISA says agencies like CSIRO have spotted the major trends and the responsible primary forces such as globalization, technology and demographic change. It stated,
These forces are not new, but they are evolving rapidly. Each time they evolve, new megatrends are generated. Understanding the root causes of megatrends allows us to identify the interactions between and take advantage of the rapidly changing environment — even as new megatrends emerge.
With the advent of emerging startup ecosystems and the rise of their respective economies, ISA expects Australia to engage actively building new export markets, trade relations and cultural ties. It sees encouraging the local startups and enterprises to go global as a major challenge. It also wants the prevalence of high-quality and relevant education and skills development for Australians.
