Policymakers, business strategists, innovation professionals, and researchers are increasingly being asked to invest in, create, or replicate innovation ecosystems. Until now, a clear framework for understanding what ecosystems are, how they function, and what enables their success has been largely missing, particularly in Australia. The Handbook of Innovation Ecosystems: Placemaking, Economics, Business, and Governance, just published by the Acton Institute for Innovation,

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.

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.