CEO Annette Schmiede represented the DHCRC at the inaugural National Innovation Policy Forum hosted by Cooperative Research Australia at Parliament House in November.
The event was headlined by an address from the Minister for Industry and Science, Ed Husic; as well as keynotes from Aboriginal Elder and Chancellor of the University of Canberra, Professor Tom Calma AO and business leader and forum patron, David Thodey.
Bringing together Australia’s policymakers with leaders from the forefront of the country’s innovation sector, participants agreed that Australia could set its ambition high to harness our capacity to be a world leading innovative nation, suggesting that Australia aim to:
- be in the top 10 nations in the world for expenditure on R&D as a percentage of GDP by 2035 driven by a mix of government, firms and research institutions
- arrest our decline in economic complexity as measured by the diversity and research intensity of our export mix, aiming reach the top 50 by 2050
- rebuild our manufacturing share of GDP from 6 per cent to 12 per cent by 2035 to contribute to an increase in Australia’s economic complexity and to provide high productivity and high-wage jobs
- be in the top 10 nations in the world for digital competitiveness by 2035.
Annette Schmiede said: “It was stimulating to attend an event with some of the foremost leaders in innovation. It became very clear we have the opportunity right now as a nation to lead global innovation across a range of sectors, including heatlhcare. This can only be done by bringing government, business and academia together and this is the unique benefit of the CRC program.”
