Australians are natural entrepreneurs, with 14 per cent of adults starting a business, nearly 50 per cent of firms innovating and universities having strong innovation cultures – the challenge, Margaret Gardner says, is to get everybody talking. “Much more is possible.  It just needs a behavioural nudge to encourage Australian businesses to venture where they have not ventured before, “ the Monash U vice chancellor and chair of Universities Australia told an AFR conference yesterday.

She proposes three kick-starters.

Committing to research-communities where universities and industry can combine.  “If we in Australia are going to build the culture and the environment to foster higher levels of new to market innovation and collaboration, we need to selectively, based on evidence, invest in the regions and precincts where there is high-quality research collaboration with industry, spin-outs and/or start-ups to accelerate their future success.”

Investing in fundamental research, where the ideas come from. “Investment in research is not a separate question to Australia’s innovation future… Australia has had declining investment in basic research and in non-medical research, which needs to be addressed to prime the engine, lest the commercialisation opportunity now available outstrips the potential targets available.”

Nudging industry in the direction of universities: “The Commonwealth Government’s business R&D tax incentive is the largest single program in the Commonwealth’s science, research and innovation spending.  It is time to use this program to provide an incentive (a nudge) to businesses to partner with an Australian university on their research and development to build a stronger collaborative base for the future.”

Um, it may be time but the time is not yet ripe. The budget changes to the R&D tax incentive did not include a break for business working with universities.