Benefits of precincts 'a mystery'

THE federal government's plan to develop innovation precincts is 'a great idea but whether it will work is a mystery'

THE federal government's plan to develop innovation precincts is a great idea but whether it will work is a mystery, says one of Australia's foremost innovation authorities, Terry Cutler.

"This is great in theory, but it's a strategy without an implementation plan," Dr Cutler said.

"I've been doing research into such precincts for about five years. I'm a big fan of them.

"But there is no evidence anywhere that can tell us which ones work and why.

"We just don't know."

As part of its industry innovation statement yesterday, the federal government said it would invest $500 million on setting up 10 industry innovation precincts.

The precincts, which are similar to technology parks, would bring together businesses, research institutions, business service providers and government agencies in the hope of building up a critical mass of like-minded people who spur the innovative effort.

Industry and Innovation Minister Greg Combet said Australia had one of the "best education and research systems in the world".

"But we must do better at translating this into business success.

"We need to change the culture in this country.

"We need to increase the level of industry-led research and get better economic and business dividends from our research," he said.

However, collaboration does not run as far as informing the relevant states of his plan.

South Australia has been named as hosting one of the first two manufacturing precincts, but a spokesman for Manufacturing, Innovation and Trade minister Tom Kenyon said there had been no consultation with the state government.

He did not know where it would be built or if it would be incorporated into an existing hub.

But Mr Kenyon said the precinct, to focus on defence, would help the state's struggling sector and promote collaboration between applied research providers, the defence industry and local manufacturers.

Jim McCluskey, deputy vice-chancellor (research) at the University of Melbourne, said the precinct idea was exciting, but "they needed to be constructed very carefully".

"Co-location alone is not enough. The governance model has to be right, the glue funding that draws people together has to be enough and the choice of location is critical," he said.

"We've seen a lot of technology parks around the world have failed because they've been set up on the outskirts of towns in sterile environments where the coffee is lukewarm and milky. And they don't work."

Dr Cutler agreed, saying no one had worked out the formula for making them succeed. Precincts such as Silicon Valley and Parkville had grown "organically and over time", he said.

He said much of yesterday's innovation strategy appeared to have been formed as a result of the Prime Minister's manufacturing taskforce.