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What helps Australia's Innovation Landscape: Direct Comparisons or Contextual Insights?

Writer's picture: Dr John H HowardDr John H Howard

Updated: Oct 12, 2024

Rajesh Gopalakrishnan Nair, 8 October 2024.

 

In discussions of innovation performance, Australia is frequently compared to a set of "peer" countries such as Finland, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, Singapore, Sweden, the UK, and the USA.


While these comparisons are meant to benchmark Australia's progress, they often miss a critical aspect: innovation systems cannot be meaningfully assessed through direct rankings due to each country's unique characteristics.


Factors like geographic location, population size, political systems, national priorities, history, and cultural diversity profoundly shape each nation's innovation landscape.


For example, some of the apparently well-performing countries in the above list benefit from a culture of collaboration and cooperation, a strong element of trust, the continuation of policies across electoral cycles, consensus on long-term policies, centralised decision-making, and the absence of extreme federalism.


Rather than focusing solely on rankings, Australia should draw specific insights from these countries’ experiences to guide its own strategy. There is no universal model for innovation to copy; instead, countries must navigate a path of exploration and experimentation that aligns with their unique realities.


How Rankings Mislead

When examining Australia’s innovation performance relative to other nations across key indicators such as the Global Innovation Index (GII), Human Development Index (HDI), Environmental Performance, World Happiness, and Competitiveness, it's evident that direct comparisons offer limited value. A quick glance at these rankings (Table 1) reveals stark variations:


Table 1: Australia in Innovation Country-rankings (Very low ranking in red colour).


Global Innovation Index (GII) ranking 2023

HDI Ranking (2024)

Environmental Performance Index ranking (2024)

World Happiness Ranking (2024)

World Competitiveness Ranking (2024)

Sweden

2

5

6

4

6

USA

3

20

34

23

12

UK

4

15

5

20

28

Singapore

5

9

44

30

1

Finland

6

12

4

1

15

Netherlands

7

10

12

6

9

Germany

8

7

3

24

24

Korea

10

19

57

52

20

Japan

13

24

27

51

38

Ireland

22

7

16

17

4

Australia

24

10

23

10

13

This table clearly shows that while some countries, like Sweden, Finland, and the Netherlands, perform consistently well across multiple dimensions, others show wide disparities.


For example, Singapore excels in competitiveness but falls behind in environmental performance and citizen happiness. This variation highlights the difficulty of determining a universally applicable formula for national innovation success.


The Value of Contextual Learning for Australia

Australia stands out positively in its Human Development Index and World Happiness rankings, indicating a focus on quality of life and citizen satisfaction. These are critical strengths that should not be undermined in the pursuit of higher innovation rankings.

For Australia, the challenge is to balance well-being and economic competitiveness without compromising either.


While Australia’s innovation ranking might seem lower compared to its peers, it is not a poor performer across any of the indicators. This consistency, albeit not at the highest level, provides a stable foundation for targeted improvements. Such consistency has not appeared like manna from heaven, nor is it because the country has been lucky.


It is important to acknowledge that Australia’s unique history and culture have played a key role. While being self-critical is valuable, it is equally important to recognise the country’s strengths, ensuring that hard-earned achievements built over centuries of effort and discipline are not lost.


Australia's approach to enhancing its innovation ecosystem should be to learn from countries with well-established innovation frameworks, adapting their strategies to fit its own unique socio-economic context.


Lessons from Global Leaders: Cautious Optimism

Countries like Korea present a dual narrative for Australia. Korea's rapid rise from a developing nation to a technology powerhouse has been driven by substantial investments in research and development (R&D) and advancements in key technologies like semiconductors and ICT infrastructure.


However, this success has come at a significant societal and environmental cost, including an ageing population, high carbon footprint, and gender inequalities. This serves as a cautionary tale for Australia, illustrating the potential downsides of a singular focus on innovation-led growth without considering broader societal impacts.

In contrast, Sweden, Finland, and the Netherlands offer a more balanced approach. These countries have long recognised innovation as a core component of their national development strategy.


They have institutionalised innovation through national councils and governance structures, ensuring it is a guiding principle across all policy-making sectors. Finland, for example, has demonstrated remarkable resilience in adapting to economic shocks by prioritising innovation to navigate structural changes.


Strategic Recommendations for Australia

To strengthen its innovation ecosystem while maintaining its high standards of quality of life, Australia could consider the following strategic actions:

1.         Adopt a Contextual Approach to Innovation Policy: Embrace a flexible, context-driven strategy that leverages Australia's unique strengths in quality of life, environmental sustainability, and stable socio-political environment. Focus on innovation policies that align with these core values.

2.         Prioritise Sustainable Development: Avoid the pitfalls of rapid but unsustainable growth as seen in Korea by embedding sustainability into the core of innovation policy. Investment in green technologies and renewable energy should be a cornerstone of Australia's approach to future-proof its economy.

3.         Foster a Culture of Continuous Learning: Encourage public and private sectors to engage in continuous learning and adaptation, drawing insights from global best practices. Instead of replicating models from other countries, experiment with policies that suit Australia's demographic and economic context. This process should be guided by Australia’s unique history and societal and cultural values.

4.         Balance Innovation with Well-being: Maintain Australia’s focus on quality of life and happiness while enhancing its innovation capabilities. Policies should aim to ensure that economic gains from innovation translate into societal benefits, reinforcing Australia's position as a country that values citizen well-being alongside economic progress.

5.         Establish a National Innovation Council: Take cues from countries like Finland and Sweden by creating a high-level national innovation council. This body should coordinate efforts across various sectors and states/territories, ensuring that innovation policy is integrated into broader economic and social planning.


Conclusion: Towards a Distinct Australian Innovation Model

Australia’s efforts to enhance its innovation performance should not be by copying the strategies of high-ranking countries but by understanding their successes and failures within their specific contexts.


Australia can carve out a distinct path that aligns with its values and aspirations by focusing on context-specific learning, establishing strong national innovation governance, balancing sustainable development with quality of life and leveraging its unique historical and cultural characteristics.


Australia's ultimate goal should be to build an innovation ecosystem that drives economic growth and enhances the well-being of its citizens, creating a resilient and adaptable society capable of confidently facing future challenges.

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4 Comments


bkagere
Oct 12, 2024

Great article Rajesh. It provides for a smooth reading and attempts to break the barriers of innovation measurement. While innovation measurement has a few loopholes, comparisons remain relevant as they create room for innovation based competition. Moreover, to contextualize and gain insights provides more granular modes of intervention. In this, sense I believe it is better to provide a few snapshots of the Australian innovation landscape in the article to aid our understanding of the challenges in the country. In my view, it would make the recommendations stronger if they originate from a more contextualized environment.

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RAJESH GK
RAJESH GK
Oct 13, 2024
Replying to

Thanks Bashir, I will make an attempt.

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narellek5
narellek5
Oct 08, 2024

Great article Rajesh highlighting innovation not as a single model, but a creation of unique circumstances, country by country. Counteracts pessimism about Australia's innovation performance and identifies tailored action to lift our national innovation capabilities.

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RAJESH GK
RAJESH GK
Oct 13, 2024
Replying to

Indeed, Narelle :) Thank you .

Edited
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