RMIT University’s Enabling Impact Platforms (EIPs) connect researchers, industry, and government to accelerate research translation and deliver outcomes that matter. Covering advanced manufacturing, health, sustainability, and more, the EIPs act as system integrators—breaking down silos, seeding collaborations, and aligning research with national and global priorities.

Innovation ecosystems often exist as dormant networks despite structural potential. The critical difference between contact lists and active collaboration lies in problem-focused interaction, trust-building, engagement, and governance mechanisms that align diverse organisational incentives. Successful activation requires shared challenges that demonstrate mutual value, system integrators that facilitate cross-sector engagement, and policy frameworks that reward collaborative

Australia’s innovation system is world-class in research inputs,but falters when it comes to commercial outcomes. This is our long-standing "innovation paradox." What if we could finally solve it? Drawing on the case of Kaiserslautern, a small German city transformed into a global tech hub through the establishment of Fraunhofer Institutes, this Insight makes the case for introducing Fraunhofer-style applied research institutes in Australia.

Successful innovation districts achieve integration across four critical domains: placemaking that treats public spaces as economic infrastructure, economic development based on systems thinking, commercial frameworks that align public and private interests, and governance institutions with clear mandates and adequate resources. Cities should treat innovation district development as a complex system requiring integration across multiple domains and timeframes.

Australia’s Rural R&D Corporations are rightly celebrated, but the system around them needs to evolve. This Innovation Insight reframes agricultural policy not in terms of who holds power—but what functions the system must perform to meet today's national challenges. A future-focused rethink from CSIRO’s Food System Horizons.

At a time when the language of innovation is everywhere yet the architecture for delivering it is so often absent, the need for honest, grounded, and practical thinking is urgent. The goal of this book is not to predict the future, but to inform and provoke those with the responsibility and agency to shape it.

Australia’s economic future depends on lifting productivity through deliberate, coordinated innovation efforts. This demands more than tax breaks or start-up hype. We need systemic clarity about innovation; mature ecosystems that enable diffusion, PMI-oriented public intervention, regional governance, and outcome-based metrics. Only then can Australia boost competitiveness, inclusivity, and resilience beyond legacy sectors and cyclical growth.

For the first time in many years, there is a genuine opportunity to move beyond the oppositional politics that have hindered structural reform. This new parliamentary composition—more diverse but potentially less fractious—opens the door to building coalitions of the willing for major national reform. If we are to grasp this political moment, we must also confront the structural ambiguity that has long undermined innovation policy in this country. 

Australia's innovation policy faces a blind spot: the systematic neglect of common knowledge that enables breakthrough innovations to scale and endure. While current frameworks excel at measuring patents and R&D expenditures, they overlook the tacit expertise, institutional practices, and professional networks that serve as innovation's connective tissue. This Insight reveals how integrating common knowledge with proprietary systems can transform Australia's innovation perfor

Since 1963, Australia’s federal industry portfolio has been restructured more than 20 times. This extraordinary level of administrative churn exposes a deeper crisis: a persistent uncertainty about the purpose, priorities, and pathways of industrial policy. This Innovation Insight calls for a reevaluation of institutional maturity—one that strikes a balance between executive flexibility and enduring strategic direction.

In today’s constrained fiscal environment, governments are rightly asking hard questions. Why should public funds support innovation districts and precincts unless there is clear evidence of productivity uplift, industry renewal, or public benefit? This Insight explores the economic, industrial, and civic value of innovation ecosystems. It argues for a shift in focus—from short-term outputs to long-term productivity gains. It also offers a practical framework for measuring wh

Innovation has shaped prosperity and progress, yet its virtues are increasingly threatened by political opportunism and corporate betrayal. How can governments, firms, and individuals protect innovation’s role as a force for good? This Insight from Professor Mark Dodgson shows the way

John H. Howard, 15 April 2025 This Insight explores the growing significance of innovation ecosystems in driving economic transformation...

This policy insight evaluates the current state of innovation policy through a multidimensional lens that complements existing frameworks.

This is the first of a series on what makes good public policy. Further Insights will be published weekly on Tuesdays. Other Innovation...

Revenue-contingent loans are a policy mechanism to offer businesses flexible, risk-managed financing, with repayments tied to future revenue

Imagine an Australia where innovation flourishes: industry makes bold R&D investments, universities collaborate, and Government is a partner

Urban Innovation Districts represent a fundamental shift in how cities leverage knowledge, technology, and people to drive economic growth.

John H. Howard, 11 February 2025 The transformation of regional economies through innovation presents one of the most compelling...

Gavin Keeley and Dalene Wray*, 6 February 2025 The Regional Development Australia (RDA) Moreton Bay-Sunshine Coast region presents one of...