Last month the federal government issued its National Innovation and Science Agenda detailing plans to put innovation at the centre of public policy, confident that economic growth, more jobs and enhanced global competitiveness will follow. (Australia has lagged many countries in articulating such an agenda.)
In the 21st century, being an innovative economy and society is obviously a good thing, but what is our mental image of an innovative society? Often California comes to mind with its Silicon Valley, awash with venture capital keen to finance hot new ideas, globally dominant hi-tech companies in bucolic campus settings, famous universities pumping out PhDs in electronics, software engineering and biotechnology, and young, fabulously successful and high profile entrepreneurs. But how do we objectively measure innovation at an aggregate country level, determine its composition and scalability, and identify relevant trends over time so we can adjust our policies and vary our invest ment priorities presumably so as to outperform our peer group?
