The AICC and SKY NEWS BUSINESS Innovation Index
The innovation agenda is alive and well in Australia, but there is still a lot of work to be done. Michelle Blum, CEO of AICC NSW, encourages businesses to contribute to the next release of a bi-monthly Innovation Index to get a clearer picture of the innovation ecosystem in Australia.
Last week, applications opened for the federal government’s Incubator Support initiative, a $23 million dollar program that pledges to foster and nurture our local start-up ecosystem. The program aims to propel Australian start-ups into an era of accelerated growth, driving commercial success in both local and international markets.
This announcement indicates that the innovation agenda is alive and kicking in Australia – but the inaugural results from AICC and SKY NEWS BUSINESS Innovation Index shows that there is still work to be done. To carve out a competitive position in the innovation space and enhance Australia’s prosperity, we need to drive innovation from the bottom up, top down and across the enterprise.
The AICC is passionate about bringing innovation to the forefront of discussion and the Innovation Index aims to canvas the latest business trends and insights, with a distinct focus on innovation and growth.
The recent survey results indicate an increasing appetite for innovation, with 22% of the Index’s respondents ranking innovation and entrepreneurship the highest in terms of growth.
This is no surprise. Across all industries, business owners know that innovation is a key ingredient for maximising collaboration, productivity and profitability. However, in the current climate, the onus is on individual businesses to look internally for support. The survey results reveal that 42% of participants have only internal sources to draw from for pursuing innovation and growth opportunities.
The results also highlighted that many Australian business are engaged with the start-up community (62%) or looking to partner with start-ups (87%). Interestingly, small businesses are overwhelmingly more likely to invest in and partner with start-ups (44%). Evidently, collaboration and partnerships are the gateway to a vibrant and dynamic innovation ecosystem in Australia.
In our globalised world, businesses are no longer operating in isolation. With the incubator support channel a step in the right direction, it’s clear from the insights gathered that we need to drive collaboration between government, academia and industries. Only then can we maximise the opportunities that will arise from innovation.
For the full key findings PDF, click here.
As part of the survey unveiling, Charles Nightingale, AICC NSW CCO, was interviewed by James Daggar-Nickson on the SKY NEWS BUSINESS Business IQ program. See the interview in full here.
I encourage you to share your thoughts and contribute to the next release of results by completing the survey, which takes approximately five minutes and is completely anonymous. Click here to participate.
Michelle Blum, CEO AICC NSW – formerly the general manager for national operations at the Australian Institute of Management, Michelle has held senior roles in the education, financial services and not-for-profit sectors. Michelle brings a wealth of varied experience to the Chamber, which is one of Australia’s leading corporate networking organisations, driving the country’s innovation and technology agenda by directly promoting and encouraging learnings from Israel. You can find AICC NSW on twitter as @AICC_NSW and on their website tinyurl.com/aicc-nsw.
Theojess1
October 4, 2016 at 9:11 am
Very interesting read
Very interesting read.