Australian Innovation System Report 2012 Compendium of Program Updates

Innovation Vouchers Program

The Innovation Vouchers Program (IVP) assists small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) to overcome some of the barriers that exist on the path to commercialisation. This program is run by the Western Australian Department of Commerce and was launched in November 2011. Under the program, eligible Western Australian-based SMEs have access to a financial boost of up to $20,000 that can be used towards engaging professional skills or services that will help businesses take an idea and turn it into a commercial reality.

The major aim of the IVP is to enable SMEs to have access to, and establish collaborative relationships with, research providers and/or specialist commercialisation support services.

The objectives of the IVP are to support innovation initiatives that will:

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  decrease the commercialisation gap;
  
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  activate industry-government-research collaborations; and,
  
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  increase R&D investment into Western Australia.
  

63 applications were received in the first round of the IVP, of which 58 were deemed eligible. Following the judging process, 12 vouchers were awarded. The second round of applications opened in February 2012.

Website for further information:

http://innovation.wa.gov.au/Tools-and-resources/Innovation-Vouchers.aspx

Ignition program

The Ignition program was facilitated by Curtin University of Technology in November 2011 at the Innovation Centre WA, Technology Park Bentley, and was sponsored by the Western Australian Government through the Department of Commerce. Curtin has exclusive rights for five years to host the Ignition program, which is based on the successful Ignite program, managed and delivered by the University of Cambridge Judge Business School’s Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning. Ignition is a five and a half day intensive program which aims to prepare innovators for the business world.

The program is available to individual inventors, academic researchers, business owners or innovators from the corporate or government sector. The program comprises a blend of educational teaching sessions, small group mentoring, expert one-to-one clinics and an opportunity to network with successful innovators and professional experts

Ignition was a great success with a total of 30 participants from 8 organisations taking part in the program.

More information can be accessed at www.business.curtin.edu.au/business/ignition

RD-CONNECT (Public Health)

The rarity and diversity of rare diseases pose specific challenges for healthcare provision and research, and for the development and marketing of therapies. Patients lack timely and accurate diagnosis and few receive tailored treatments influencing survival and quality of life. Rare diseases (RD) are a priority area for action in the EU Public Health Programme (2008-2013). The new International Rare Disease Research Consortium (IRDiRC) recognises that a global initiative is required to drive RD development and avoid duplication and has set the ambitious goal of diagnosing all RD and developing 200 new RD treatments by 2020.

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  RD-CONNECT is a large scale integrated platform connecting registries, biobanks and clinical bioinformatics for rare disease research. Advanced -omics technologies such as genomics, transcriptomics, phenomics and proteomics offer widely recognised potential to find new genes, delineate biomarkers and identify therapeutic targets. To date, concrete achievements from these personalised and stratified medicinal approaches have been limited. The emerging interest of large pharma in the rare disease field is based on recognition of its promise and the favourable legislative and political environment for orphan drug development. Despite these incentives, the translation of orphan drug designations to marketing authorisations is low. The innovative RD-CONNECT platform is founded on a comprehensive understanding of the specific challenges in addressing -omics approaches to RD, in the knowledge that access to resources (networks and registries) and a close working relationship with patient groups are predictors of success for translational efforts in RD.
  

RARE-Bestpractice (Public Health)

RARE – Bestpractice aims to develop a sustainable networking platform, supporting the collection of standardised and validated data and exchange of knowledge and reliable information to improve clinical management of RDs patients.

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  Collaborative efforts are needed to tackle rare diseases to prevent significant morbidity, perinatal or early mortality, and/or a considerable reduction in an individual's quality of life or socio-economic potential.
  
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  The platform deals with RDs as a global health issue, exploiting and integrating contributions from EU member states and other world areas (eg, Europe, America, Oceania) and will identify opportunities to improve clinical practice.
  
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  Rare-Best practices will focus on:
  

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   collection, evaluation and dissemination of existing best practices;
   
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   an agreed methodology suitable to develop, update, and evaluate new best practice guidelines;
   
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   training activities targeted at key stakeholders to spread expertise and knowledge; and
   
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   providing a forum for exchanging information, sharing lessons learnt, and facilitating collaborations.
   

The platform is established as an enabling knowledge web for health care providers, experts, patients, policy makers and best practice guideline developers with outcomes that support reduction of healthcare gaps among countries and improved clinical management of RD patients globally.

Landgate Joint Venture – Earthmine Australia

Earthmine Australia was an idea generated through Landgate’s innovation program developing into Landgate’s first joint business venture. Earthmine technology allows a complete process for 3D street level imagery; offering an end-to-end solution that combines information regarding what is seen on the street including bike lanes, water pipes and electricity lines, pot holes, shops and distance information with the view of the street, for developing applications and delivering visually impressive and spatially accurate results.

Following collaboration between key parties, a project was created to carry out research into the market and assess the suitability of the Earthmine technology against the needs and requirements of existing Landgate customers, potential new customers and the benefits it could bring to the State. The research was conducted in partnership with Geomatic Technologies Pty Ltd to explore data collection capabilities as a new market opportunity and enhance Landgate’s existing data collection, products and services.

In October 2009 a pilot project was carried out in conjunction with the City of Perth and it proved to be a cost effective solution to asset management. The capabilities of the technology were clear, and when shown to potential customers, initial reactions were confirmed.

Website for further information:

www.earthmineaustralia.com