NSW kicks off R&D push

The state says the COVID pandemic has provided it a unique opportunity to reset its focus on innovation.

Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier Gabrielle Upton speaks to the media during a press conference at Advanced Field Robotics Centre, in Sydney. The NSW Government has today launched a new action plan with the research and development sector becoming a key jobs creator in NSW. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Bianca De Marchi

The COVID-19 crisis has presented a rare opportunity for New South Wales to ramp up its focus on R&D, according to parliamentary secretary to the premier Gabrielle Upton, who on Friday is meeting with the Business Council of Australia and experts including David Gonski to discuss how innovation can help guide the state out of the pandemic.

Speaking to The Australian, Ms Upton said that a new R&D action plan, developed over the past year, would spur jobs and investment in nascent high-tech industries for the state.

“This is a pivotal time for the state government in terms of research and development,” Ms Upton told The Australian. ”There were lessons out of COVID that showed that we can be collaborative when it comes to our innovation ecosystem, from start-ups through to industry and universities. Historically we haven‘t really had that collaboration.

“We invest about $400m into research and development across government every year, but it‘s not co-ordinated and it’s not measured. We now have a plan, including five ideas that are priority ideas and some supporting ideas, to focus on this because it hasn’t been done well historically.”

The five recommended Priority Actions are:

– Launch a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program – provide competitive grants for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to find and commercialise innovative solutions to well-defined problems for NSW Government agencies.

– Boost open data – release new government datasets so businesses can make better decisions, entrepreneurs can build new businesses and the government can solve complex challenges.

– Turbocharge precincts – develop precincts to attract national and global technology industries and investment, and drive collaboration between universities, research organisations, start-ups, scale-ups and SMEs, to commercialise R & D.

– Target strategic support for NSW universities – collaborate on research that drives future NSW strategic growth industries and research-led industry attraction, and better leverage Commonwealth Government research funding.

– Establish an R&D matchmaking platform – better connect research ‘sellers’ and ‘buyers’ and link researchers to research infrastructure and expertise.

According to Ms Upton, New South Wales has ‘an abundance of riches’ when it comes to its universities, and its start-up capabilities.

“Some states have maybe had to work harder than we have,” she said. ”For us now having an integrated approach across the whole of government can be challenging, but this is the time to do it because people are thinking about different ways of doing their jobs.

“My approach is we need to engage with industry really strongly on this, and this goes all the way from start-ups, to scale-ups, SMEs and the whole ecosystem.”

She added that her state has a solid, long-term commitment to so-called hard infrastructure, including roads and transport, and that will now be coupled with a committed investment across soft infrastructure.

“If the business community knows the state has certain industry priorities, and research priorities, then New South Wales will be able to power new industries and have a natural competitive advantage. And we should have those new industries building the jobs here, and the IP residing here.”