Queensland Science and Innovation Strategy: what the long term future looks like for Queensland innovators
Authors: Shaun van Dijk, Joel Spotswood, Luke Matthyssen
The Queensland Government has released Ideas into Impact: From discovery to delivery, a new 15-year Science and Innovation Strategy intended to strengthen the pathway between Queensland research and real-world commercial outcomes. Importantly for Queensland start-ups, SMEs and innovators, this establishes a long-term roadmap for the facilitation and support of innovation in the state, after a period of uncertainty.
Commercialisation sits firmly at the centre of the new Strategy, with the Government seeking to improve the connections between researchers, founders, investors, industry and government so that more Queensland intellectual property progresses from discovery into products, businesses, investment, and jobs.
What’s in the Strategy?
The Government has established three broad targets:
Double the value of Queensland’s innovation ecosystem
Increase Queensland’s share of Australian Government R&D funding
Increase the impact of Queensland intellectual property
These targets will be pursued across three main areas: accelerating ideas, unlocking investment, and activating partnerships and places.
Accelerating Ideas
A major theme is improving the transition from early research and intellectual property into commercially viable opportunities.
This includes support for researchers, founders and businesses to commercialise IP and test new approaches, alongside stronger pathways for science and innovation talent. The Government also wants to make the system easier to navigate through a new Science and Innovation Connector Service, which will act as a central entry point connecting innovators with relevant expertise, programs, investors and other parts of the Queensland innovation ecosystem.
Unlocking Investment and Commercialisation
Perhaps the most significant structural announcement is a new Office of Commercialisation, intended to coordinate the pathway from early-stage IP and pre-seed activity through to co-investment, market access and scale-up.
The Strategy also places greater emphasis on industry partnerships and attracting Australian Government, private and international R&D investment. Importantly, the Queensland Government has signalled that it intends to act not only as a funder, but also as an early customer through government procurement, pilots and innovation challenges.
Activating Partnerships and Places
The third focus is on strengthening Queensland’s existing science and innovation precincts, shared infrastructure and regional innovation ecosystems.
The Strategy proposes greater co-investment in shared-use infrastructure, stronger connections between research precincts and support for regional innovation clusters. Advanced technologies including AI, quantum computing and robotics are also specifically identified as tools to improve productivity and develop new capabilities across existing Queensland industries.
What About Funding?
The Government has committed an additional $22 million to support the Strategy and help Queensland discoveries progress towards commercialisation. Specific funding initiatives introduced via the strategy include;
· Pre-seed (university-focus) programs
· Seed (industry-focus) programs
· Funding programs for new waste technology and remanufacturing
· Queensland Founders and Research Program
· Precinct and Hub Activation Fund
· Future Technologies Commercialisation Infrastructure Program
In addition to the above, the strategy outlines the ongoing support and expansion of a number of investment vehicles, to provide Queensland innovators with leveraged financing and access to early stage capital.
The immediate funding commitment is relatively modest compared with the scale of the Strategy's 15-year ambition. Much of its potential impact will therefore depend on whether government can use the Strategy to better coordinate existing expenditure, attract private capital and remove barriers between research, industry and markets.
What Does This Mean for Queensland Innovators?
For Queensland startups, research-intensive SMEs and companies undertaking R&D, the Strategy signals where Queensland innovation policy and future support are heading; leveraging existing talent, skills, capability and places and translating this into meaningful commercialisation outcomes. The Strategy also signifies a shift towards favouring co-investment as the primary source of innovation support with a number of programs designed to provide early-stage funding through investment vehicles that attract co-investment and private capital, as opposed to grants.
Queensland businesses developing and commercialising new technologies should identify what Strategy Initiatives align with their commericalisation pathways, and how these forms of support fit into their overall funding strategy, including non-dilutive funding options.
If you are undertaking R&D or developing a new technology in Queensland and would like to understand how the changing funding and innovation landscape could apply to your business, please get in touch with our team.
