Page 903 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 9 April 2014
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As I said in my concluding remarks to my earlier contribution, which unfortunately was cut a little short by hitting 6 o’clock and I lost two minutes of my speaking time as a result, the government—
Mr Coe: You’re a victim!
MR BARR: I know, it is a sad thing, but I am going to make up for my two minutes now. It certainly is the government’s intention to provide the Assembly with regular updates on the delivery of the plan, and that will take many forms. As I indicated to Mr Doszpot, clearly, some matters will be progressed through the budget and forthcoming budgets. There will, of course, be reports and information from various directorates in their annual reports, and the Chief Minister’s directorate will provide an overarching update for members on an annual basis. There will be a budget update related to initiatives in the budget, then annual report updates and I also anticipate there being a range of other information provided outside of those formal processes in relation to different elements of the overall action plan.
I can provide one of those updates right now in that in November last year we began a process of reviewing innovation activities within the ACT to look at ways of achieving even better outcomes. In February this year a workshop was held with over 30 key stakeholders, including the ANU, NICTA, CSIRO, the University of Canberra, Australian Capital Ventures, the Canberra Business Council, Epicorp and the Lighthouse Business Innovation Centre. This workshop recommended the development of an innovation network that would support the growth of innovative companies wherever they were located in the territory.
This week I have announced on behalf of the government that we will be implementing the outcomes of the workshop. An innovation network with the working title CBR innovation network will be established and its ownership will be shared by the key stakeholders and the ACT government. The government will be inviting the ANU, NICTA, CSIRO and the University of Canberra to become the core partners in the network. Other contributors will also be most welcome.
The vision for the network is to link businesses and entrepreneurs to accelerate innovation and growth to maximise wealth creation. To achieve this vision the network will have an ACT-wide purview described at the workshop as from Mount Stromlo to Bruce and beyond. The network will provide a triage model for all entities which contact it but with services that engage effectively with potential high-growth businesses.
The network will have a governance structure that provides avenues for buy-in from all of the key stakeholders. The network will embrace all innovative ideas, not just digital and technology intensive companies, for example, life sciences and social sciences in the ACT and the real opportunities they present for enterprise development. The network will be available to all potential high-growth companies, not just companies spun out of research institutions or ICT companies. The network will support and encourage alternative models for accelerating innovation, including providing services to any potential high-growth business.
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