Accelerating R&D in NSW
This document is a shareable response to this request for feedback.
How can the NSW Government better support you/your organisation in its R&D efforts?
- Work with PFRO and Universities to open access to their existing facilities and expertise in support of prototype, testing and small scale fast turn-around manufacture activities.
- Develop programs to address the challenges faced by hardware based export focused advance manufacturing busineses trying to compete on the world stage.
For example, introduce support for price competitive certification programs. Provide incentives for existing businesses to lower the cost of local component supply chains. Expand existing programs for Research-Industry engagement via Boosting Business Innovation and similar programs.
How can the NSW Government better support the R&D and innovation ecosystem in NSW?
- The question asked is perhaps the wrong one if a vibrant local innovation ecosystem is the ultimate goal; the cost of R&D and prototyping in Australia is not the core issue.
The resources available to design anything have never been cheaper. Electronics, PCB/PCBA, CAD, 3D fabrication and other advanced manufacture, software development and tools chains, there is an embarrassment of riches. In some fields, such as metal fabrication, and in key sectors (e.g. Medtech, Spacetech, Deeptech, Nanotech etc) there is need for direct support for core R&D but for ecosystem development, these are exceptions not the rule.
- This is not about spending more money.
It's about unlocking value that already exists.
- The focus must be on existing SMEs, start-ups and scale-ups not big business or international corporations looking for offset dollars to ensure the development of a true innovation ecosystem.
- The biggest problem for most hardware startups and many SMEs is they don't have (enough) customers.
They need a clear paying goal to give them room to develop their idea and get paid for it without being held hostage to unrealistic investment runways. Patient capital is part of the story but here's where government can really help the most; Procurement.
- We propose the NSW Government work to create demand for startups' products and services.
Offer contracts to small businesses to innovate solutions and deliver new products and services.
- The Government takes on the risk associated with this procurement.
- This must be curated by a responsible 3rd party, and here we recommend this would be a perfect role for CSIRO/Data61 and similar (perhaps Universities and qualified Industry partners).
These bodies would act as technical adjudicators and deploy their expertise to ensure candidate startups have a reasonable chance of fulfilling the contract. The govt puts up procurement contracts and awards them based on technical adjudicators' recommendations.
- There should be no penalties for failure (except obvious bad faith).
The idea is that (excluding scams, big companies and rorters) this is a no lose deal for Government. It would stimulate the tech industry and the money would flow to support new companies even if an individual project may fail. If it succeeds then that is an extra bonus.
- The idea is that to stimulate a tech industry, NSW needs to prime the pump and actually get money flowing to innovators undertaking product development so they can build something without living on "starvation wages" typical of the "Gig Economy".
This is especially true in businesses that have hardware as a core part of their value proposition (i.e. unlike the majority of software businesses which are better supported by State and Federal Government programs).
- It's important to flush out myriad bad ideas (that come from malinvestment and a lot of sources of seed capital) as well as all the misaligned "advice" from the finance industry.
Nothing will grow out of that except more ponzi economics in our view. One just needs to look back to the Apollo and Viking programs, or the origin of the Internet (DARPANET), a few billion dollars kick started the global computer revolution. Wall Street and private capital only got involved after it was proven to work, then they hijacked with their own language and pretended that it was a triumph of financial engineering which it isn't. That idea has become embedded ever since and now is the time to undo the damage and focus on leveraging what already exists to create an economic environment condusive to globally competitive business development in advanced manufacture and deep tech export focused industry.
- Think of this as building “Shenzhen in NSW”.
- What barriers for R&D in NSW have you experienced and how can the NSW Government address these?
- Challenge: finding local suppliers of goods and services required to conduct our business at globally competitive costs is extremely difficult.
- Solution: develop programs to encourage existing SME and Manufacturing businesses to offer services on globally competitive terms to startups and local SME undertaking R&D and local manufacture, especially for export.
What does the NSW Government do well in the R&D space and what are the key opportunities for NSW Government to accelerate R&D in NSW?
- Precincts are excellent.
Geographical critical mass is very important. The Sydney Startup HUB is an excellent model, albeit one that does not support hardware based businesses very well.
- Expand precincts further, from Redfern to Aerotropolis and elsewhere.
Activate these with ecosystem-wide enabling activities described in section (2) and (7).
How can NSW better leverage Australian Government investment in R&D?
- Better coordination with the Federal Government through the likes of AMGC and their programs and the University and Research sectors and their programs.
- Focus on developing the existing SME sector (as opposed to large corporates at the one end or start-ups or early stage scaleups at the other).
Starting in Sydney with a focus on hardware and advanced manufacture and expand into the regions, start with Newcastle.
- State Government should act to facilitate national programs by creating a fertile local ecosystem in which existing businesses and start-ups can grow rapidly together.
Combined with resources the Universities and CSIRO can bring and it could grow to become an ecosystem that would encourage business to seriously consider onshoring.
- Are there examples from other jurisdictions supporting R&D that NSW can learn from/adopt?
- Scale-Up New Zealand offers a very good example.
- The Israel Start-Up Ecosystem forms the basis for what NZ has done.
- Both offer quality examples of platforms in support of vibrant innovation ecosystem development.
- Please upload any additional documents that support your submission.
| Title | Accelerating R&D in NSW |
|---|---|
| Permalink | https://share.bitscope.com/LGMT6CU5/s7dycyyfiqhmigv3/ |
| Author | Bruce Tulloch <bruce@bitscope.com> |
| Copyright | © 2019 MetaChip Pty. Ltd. T/A BitScope Designs |
| License | Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) |
| Revision | Update |
| 04 | initiative home page |
| 03 | comments and feedback (via Linked-In) |
| 02 | document submitted |
| 01 | document written |