Leveraging innovation precincts to drive economic prosperity.

Innovation precincts are place-based innovation ecosystems. They usually have a widely understood geographic extent; a shared sense of identity amongst those involved; and a strong set of formal and informal networks and partnerships between people and businesses, researchers, education and training organisations and government.

There is strong evidence innovation precincts improve collaboration and innovation outcomes that contribute to business and economic growth. They facilitate sharing of resources, ideas, challenges and opportunities, and help businesses to access talent. They also create amenities and value for surrounding communities, and can contribute to urban renewal projects and drive regional economic growth.

There are many existing and planned innovation precincts in Australia. However, the scale of many of these precincts is much lower in Australia than in North America or Europe, and their full potential is arguably less widely understood. Some of the challenges and opportunities to consider are:

1. Information on innovation precincts’ areas of specialisation and assets, along with local supply chain opportunities, infrastructure and human capital, can guide business decisions to establish or expand operations in a particular location. It can also guide governments to target infrastructure investment and program design.

2. Successful innovation precincts are locally led and based on local competitive strengths, innovation potential and needs. They should be integrated into surrounding communities and into local, regional, national and international networks and supply chains.

3. The value of innovation precincts in encouraging end-user focused collaborative research, commercialisation and innovation is not well understood.

4. Finding suitable collaboration partners remains challenging and time consuming for both the research sector and industry, particularly for small businesses.

5. To help Australian innovation precincts to mature and reach global scale, precinct leaders must grow their expertise and capability in developing effective precincts; and precinct partners must develop their collaborative capability.

6. Innovation precincts need to articulate and market their research capabilities and competitive strengths, including internationally Stocktake of Australian Innovation Precincts – June 2019

Further Information
https://www.industry.gov.au/strategies-for-the-future/promoting-innovation-precincts