Driving sustainable regional development through innovation – a role for CQUniversity

…an overview of the CQ Innovation Prospectus

EIDOS, Brisbane 28th September 2011

Susan Kinnear (Senior researcher, CQUniversity) and Ian Ogden (Innovative Regions Facilitator , DIISR – Central Queensland)

Some key themes …

• What role has innovation to play in sustainable regional development ?

• What role do regions play in innovation ?• How can ISRD be best described, measured, predicted ?• How can non-traditional innovation outcomes be assessed ?• How can regional stakeholders be brought together under the ISRD

umbrella ?• What is the role of regional universities in the Innovation and SRD

agendas?

What is the CQ context – past, present and future?

The CQ Innovation Accord (2010)

… a regional agreement and commitment to foster innovation in all aspects of regional and development and progress

Signed by 150 regional leaders from industry, government and community – establishing CQ as a leading region in ‘systemic’ (rather than firm-by-firm) innovation

The follow-through …2011

A comprehensive body of work aimed at identifying and realising the potential for innovation to intersect with

regional development in CQ

Describing the innovation landscape (habitat)

A debrief documenting regional innovation intelligence in two ways:1) High level 'innovation observations' for 17 regional industries

INNOVATION DEBRIEF – EDUCATION

Innovation in education & skilling will define CQ’s regional competitiveness; but the region’s higher-ed statistics are poor compared with urban areas.

Access and equity remains a concern

Innovation may be driven through structural reform (e.g., CQUni dual sector bid) as well as through specific actions that harmonise industry needs and educational outcomes (e.g.

WIL)

Regional knowledge capital can strengthened/accelerated by innovative use of technology Stronger relationships between industry, community and education providers are key

Describing the innovation landscape (habitat)

2) identifying whole-of-region issues and opportunities … where does CQ fit in national agendas, regionalisation strategies and more?

Innovation in NRM and the environment “…..there are substantial opportunities in the NRM space for Central Queensland, particularly in areas such as carbon management, the

development of biofuels, advanced systems for water use and management, forestry and mine rehabilitation….”

Debrief conclusions

• The pace and nature of regional development in CQ is uneven (e.g., coastal centres to the exclusion of western communities; booming resources industries cf declining agriculture, tourism and services).

• Current, traditional metrics are inadequate to capture regional innovation(no patents in the Central West since 1994!)

• Innovation can be pursued by pursuing greater collaborative linkages … novel partnerships that draw together players from diverse and seemingly unrelated backgrounds

The policy implications – a need for integration

Innovation • Australia's innovation policy is entering a phase of renewal

and refocus – ‘colllaboration and connectedness’

• A shift in nature from technological, to scientific, to systemic

• The introduction of regional innovation systems

• Innovation policy paradigms are moving toward a holistic interpretation of ‘innovation’… introducing the possibility of overlap with many other policy areas

The policy implications – a need for integration

Sustainability

• Regional areas as natural and logical ‘entities’ by which environmental issues can be tackled.

• Regional Australia as the ‘proving ground’ for low-carbon, alternative energy industries

• Sustainability (simultaneously social, economic and environmental) gives regions a bright future

The policy implications – a need for integration

Regional development• A phase of renewal and refocus - a dynamic space• Australia's regions essential in delivering national goals• Regionals face (and deal with) major challenges: food, water and

energy security; land use conflicts; climate change; the low-carbon transition; managing multi-speed economies ….and they do so with less resources

• Most policy developed and delivered from a siloed 'solutions' focus (not converging 'issues' focus)

• Regional governance must shift to a paradigm of true regional value and action (collaboration and connectedness?)

The policy implications – a need for integration

Where does that leave ‘innovative’ regions …?

• There is a need to utilise regional capital and coordinate the innovation, regional development and sustainability agendas (regional coordination)

• Cross-disciplinary innovation is a likely enabler of maximum regional value (multidisciplinary approach)

• There is a need to develop and adopt new metrics – (to provide the evidence base for determining the benefit of policy integration… what is the best return for federal govt spend?) (research and its applications)

A role for regional universities… ?

A role for regional universities (CQUni)

Consider the key objectives of DoRA:1. Increase regional productivity, economic development &

diversification

2. Regional Leadership and representation

3. Improve regional service delivery

4. Improve return on federal investment spend

5. Coordinate across tiers of govt and across portfolios

Now consider:

Teaching learning, research and innovation, engagement, advocacy, regional citizenship…. a large organisational footprint… a multidisciplinary organisational focus

Partnering with SME‘s (CQUni case study)

• SME's occupy a critical role in the Aust economy (46% GDP 2006)• Little is known about regional SME's beyond baseline counts• HE has a poor record of engagement with SME's• SME's are willing to partner but struggle with costs, resources and

entry points • Multiple benefits apparent for Uni's and SME's• More work needs to done to define the value proposition for

both; tailored strategies needed

Regional business want help…

I would like to receive support to help me inovate in the form of:

Percentage of respondents

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Other

Access to R&D providers

Business advice - financial

Business advice - planning for the future

Training in IP/commercialisation

Access to venture capital

Training in leadership

Forums for ideas exchange

Networking and alliance building

But are regional universities missing this opportunity…?

I know who to contact at CQUni for information on starting a research project

I know what research services CQUniversity can offer my business

Innovation in my business has been helped by having CQUniversity in the region

I would choose CQUniversity first if I needed a research project done

There are ways for my business to be involved with the teaching programs offered by CQUniversity

My business would benefit from employing CQuni graduates that are taught innovation skills

My business would be an active partner with an Innovation Centre if one were available in CQ

I would like CQuniversity to help shape business innovation in the region

Strongly disagree Strongly agree

Eco–innovation case studies

• Envirolink Solar Power group – innovation through community connectedness

• Rocky's Own Transport Co – innovation in emissions tracking and measurement through research collaboration (CQUni)

• Precision Agriculture – innovation in primary industry• Zerogen – innovation and insights into low carbon coal

technology….but what is the role of these in wider regional

development strategy and planning?

Local Government snapshots

• Poor appetite for focus on regional innovation• Low evidence of connectedness with

economic actors• Regional aspirations…. but local focus• Under-resourced

• Great potential as innovative 'place managers'

Innovation in Strategic Regional Planning

• Innovative regions have prerequisites:– a critical mass of people and organisations to create leading edge

knowledge transfer; – the presence of people and organisations who set the standard for

industry; – the existence of an extensive set of pilot/demonstration projects –

experimentation to develop real-world improvements; and – a demonstrated, active participation and presence in the knowledge

economy.

• Momentum can be gained by:– Building up consensus– Analysing (negotiating and communicating) regional potential– Defining priorities and action planning

Establishing a regional collaborative…

Principles:• Not to duplicate or replicate• Recognise the free market as the 'doer'• Focus on tangible outcomes• Shared investment, shared benefit, shared risk• Agglomeration of supply and demand (human capital)

through collaboration and connectedness• Playing to the strength of every participant

The model for the future (2012)

national objectives : regional value

The CQ Regional Collaborative will establish a structural mechanism by which innovation can

be used to deliver sustainable regional development in Central Queensland

(piloted from “Innovation Central” at the CQUni Research and Innovation Precinct, Rockhampton)

Concept note

CQ think tank

Refined proposal

Innovation Board

Regional Investment

Pool

A new approach to regional development through collaborative decision-making and investment

Where the flow of ideas, issues and/or

information…

…is captured through an accessible

regional entry point

… developed collaboratively through

open innovation

… assessed using a standardised

regional development tool

…and given the necessary

support to succeed

Innovation Central Pipeline Assessment and support

Multiple outcomes

Knowledge creation (research) and capture (e-warehouse) Capacity building (training and skilling) Implementation (on-ground activity) Linkages, engagement and regional profiling Policy development and influence

Collaborative open innovation

pipeline

The nexus: innovation, sustainable regional development and … regional universities

A template for interaction Supporting innovation in regional business and industry Recognising the value of regional universities Strengthening the relevance of RDA committees Respecting the roles of existing regional entities Allowing regional development to deliver national benefits

CQUniversity advantages

CQUni at the core of developing our regional identity – using leadership and engagement with business and industry to help the region

‘be what it wants to be’

A single entry point into CQUni for business, industry and the community Direct pathway for staff to access business and industry Awareness of regional initiatives , priorities and players Co-investment for the CQ Innovation and Research Precinct CQUniversity facilitating the region’s development – growing the student and

R&D bases

…a national pilot (demonstration) in Central Queensland

A template for interactions between business, industry and regional stakeholders

Leading research into assessment and prioritisation of regional investment and development projects

Our approach Stakeholder engagement – building consensus on the model Creating buy-in with lead organisations Creating a working party – confirming mechanics, funding and

support Establishing the Innovation Board Moving to first operations: co-funding for the model and the

investment pool

Questions?