digging deeper – trends in the innovation indicators · digging deeper – trends in the...

[In]Sight – Innovation in Regional Australia, Spreading the Ideas Boom 40

Digging Deeper – Trends In The Innovation Indicators R&D Investment Is Focused In The Big Cities (Old School Indicator: Presence Of R&D Institutions Registered With Innovation Australia) In Australia R&D institutions are mostly located in capital cities. Overall, Australia has 196 registered R&D institutions, 156 of these are in metropolitan areas. In all, just 26 regional LGAs have an R&D institution. Sixteen Regional Cities have a total of 28 institutions, led by Newcastle (NSW) with four, then Orange (NSW), Hobart (Tas) and Darwin (NT) with three each. Five Heartland Regions have one each – Cabonne, Corowa and Upper Lachlan (NSW), Buloke (Vic) and Isaac (Qld). Five Industry and Service Hubs have registered R&D institutions as well – Armidale Dumaresq (NSW) and Mount Gambier (SA) with two each, as well as Central Coast and Devonport (Tas), and Alice Springs (NT). No Connected Lifestyle Regions have a registered R&D institution, despite their large share of regional Australia’s population. Indicator Description Source Registered research service providers

Presence of organisations registered with Innovation Australia for the purpose of conducting research and development, 2015 The organisations meet standards relating to their capability to provide 'scientific or technical expertise and resources to perform research and development (R&D) on behalf of companies.’

Innovation Australia - Registered research organisations, 2015xviii

R&D Managers Follow The Money (Old School Indicator: Employment As R&D Managers) R&D managers are a highly specialised field, and their locations are closely linked to the presence of public and private R&D organisations. The 2011 Census counted a total of 8,287 R&D managers across Australia, 7,116 (86 per cent) in the mainland capital cities. In keeping with the urban focus of this occupation, the regions showing the highest proportions of R&D managers in their workforces were the Regional Cities – especially Hobart (Tas - 22 per cent), Darwin (NT) and Wodonga (Vic), (both 10 per cent) and Newcastle (NSW - 9 per cent). Other R&D manager hotspots were Armidale Dumaresq (NSW - 12 per cent), Narrabri (NSW - 9 per cent) and Northam (WA – 7 per cent). 263 Heartland Regions had no R&D managers.


Indicator Description Source Research & development managers

Employment as research and development managers, 2011 Research & Development Managers plan, organise, direct, control and coordinate research and development activities within organisations.

2011 Census of Population and Housing, ABS

Patents Reflect Regional/Metro Population Split (Old School Indicator: Patent Applications) Over the decade to 2014 there was a total of 18,809 patent applications across Australia. 12,697 (67 per cent) were made across the mainland capital cities which is consistent with the fact that two-thirds of Australians live in these cities. Regions with a strong mining industry relationship, or a large population, were most likely to register more patents. There were 2,993 applications from Regional Cities, Industry and Service Hubs had a total of 913 patent applications, and Connected Lifestyle Regions 905. There was a total of 1,301 from the 292 Heartland Regions (119 had no patent applications over the decade), and many of these were in remote LGAs with high indigenous populations – pointing to a growing capability of intellectual property management in these regions. In terms of patent intensity (number of patents per 10,000 working age population), the remote, low population regions in Queensland and the Northern Territory had the highest patent intensities. After these LGAs, high patent intensities are found in inner city LGAs – Perth (WA) and Adelaide (SA). Across regional Australia, LGAs with particularly high patent intensities are in Industry and Service Hubs (like Armidale (NSW), Singleton (NSW) and Mt Isa (Qld)), Regional City LGAs (such as Orange (NSW) and Bunbury (WA)) and Connected Lifestyle Regions (particularly Wandering and Boddington (WA), Queenscliffe (Vic) and Yass Valley and Palerang adjoining the ACT). Indicator Description Source Patent applications Average annual number of applications for

patents per 10,000 working age population, 2005-14 Patent applications are lodged in order to provide legal protection for intellectual property (IP) contained in developments of devices, substances, methods or process. Two types of IP are protected using patents: standard, for inventionsxix, and (2) innovationxx, a less substantive development of existing technology.

Intellectual Property Government Online Data, IP Australia & MIIPA; 2011 Census of Population and Housing, ABS


Regional Cities And Mining Areas Are Hubs For STEM Skills (Old School Indicator: Post School Qualifications In Science & Engineering) In 2011 over 2 million Australians had post school qualifications in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM). Overall, 65 per cent of these lived in the mainland capitals, and regional Australia shows a diverse spread and in many cases high proportions of residents with these qualifications. Regional Cities accounted for over 19 per cent of the national total, with LGAs like Gladstone and Mackay (Qld) at 12 per cent of residents with STEM qualifications, and Wollongong (NSW), Litchfield (NT), Lake Macquarie, Port Stephens, Maitland and Newcastle (NSW) all over 10 per cent. The highest rates of these qualifications were in small mining communities like Roxby Downs (SA) and in the Pilbara (WA) (over 18 per cent). Likewise, Industry and Service Hubs with a mining focus also had high proportions – places like Karratha, Port Hedland (WA), Singleton (NSW) and Mt Isa (Qld) with 11-15 per cent. Some Connected Lifestyle Regions also showed high proportions, places like Boddington and Toodyay (Perth extended commuter belt) at 15 per cent and 12 per cent, and other similarly located lifestyle LGAs like Lithgow (NSW), Palerang (ACT/NSW) and Kingborough (Hobart region) all over 10 per cent. Indicator Description Source Human resources in science & engineering

Post-school qualifications in natural & physical sciences, engineering & related technologies, 2011


Indigenous Communities Creating New Businesses At Rapid Rates (New School Indicator: Business Entries) In Australia, new business entries are predominantly centred in the Heartland Regions, Metropolitan and Regional Cities. Heartland Regions have a significantly higher ratio score of new business entries in comparison to other regional types given their small total number of existing businesses. Remote Queensland does particularly well with low population LGAs like Palm Island, Torres Strait Island, Mapoon, Wujal Wujal and the Northern Peninsula Area rounding out the top five. The map shows a spread of LGAs with high proportions of new businesses stretching across the top end of Queensland to the North West parts of Western Australia, spanning from LGAs like Lockhart River and Cook, to West Arnhem and Roper Gulf in the Northern Territory across to Port Hedland, East Pilbara and Ashburton. This includes both the low population remote LGAs where a


small number of new businesses on the small base yields a high ratio, and mining LGAs which have seen considerable numbers of new businesses starting up in recent years. In 2013 there were a total of 67,528 new business entries across regional Australia, in comparison to 159,094 new businesses in metropolitan cities. Regional Cities claimed the highest number of total new businesses with 35,897, followed by the Heartland Regions (14,341), Connected Lifestyle Regions (8,716) and Industry and Services Hubs closely behind (8,574). Given metropolitan LGAs have higher population densities it is unsurprising that metro cities have the highest total number of new business entries. Indicator Description Source Business entries Business entries as a proportion of total

businesses, 2010-2014

Counts of Australian Businesses Including Entries & Exits, ABS

Regions Lag In Knowledge-intensive Business Services (New School Indicator: Knowledge-Intensive Business Services) Across regional Australia there was, in 2011, a total of 143,940 people employed in knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) compared to 562,163 in the metros. KIBS are highly concentrated within and around the metropolitan centres, with capital city LGAs dominating the top 60 places. Connected Lifestyle Region LGAs such as Palerang, Yass, Byron (NSW), and Queenscliffe, Macedon Ranges and Surf Coast (Vic) take up 10 of the top 20 regional LGAs. Regional Cities such as Hobart (Tas), Newcastle (NSW), and Gladstone (Qld) take up seven of the top 20. However, while some Connected Lifestyle Regions score highly, overall they make up just 2.8 per cent of all KIBS jobs, followed closely behind by Industry and Service hubs with just above 2 per cent of the total across the country. In contrast Regional Cities claim a greater share of KIBS in total with 13.2 per cent. Notably high KIBS measures are found in LGAs such as Narrabri (NSW), Exmouth (WA) and Mapoon (Qld). Indicator Description Source Knowledge-intensive business services

Employees in knowledge-intensive business services per 10,000 working age population Knowledge Intensive Business Services (KIBS) are services and business operations heavily reliant on professional knowledge. They are mainly concerned with providing knowledge-intensive support for the business processes of other organisations.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional


Owner-Managers A Regional Strength (New School Indicator: Owners And Managers) In 2011 there were 582,815 owner-managers throughout regional Australia, compared to 894,761 located in the mainland capitals. There is a clear concentration of owner-managers in urban Australia with Regional Cities accounting for 19 per cent of this occupation group across Australia. Regional Cities make up the top 24 spots in relation to other regional types, with Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast (Qld), and Greater Geelong (Vic) in the top three. Heartland Regions account for the second largest proportion in regional Australia, third overall (9 per cent) followed by Connected Lifestyle Regions (0.6 per cent) and Industry and Service Hubs (0.5 per cent). Indicator Description Source Owner-Managers Owner-managers as a proportion of total

employed persons, 2011 An owner manager of an unincorporated enterprise is a person who operates his/her own unincorporated economic enterprise, that is, a business entity in which the owner and the business are legally inseparable, so that the owner is liable for any business debts that are incurred. It includes those engaged independently in a profession or trade. The level of owner-managers within a region is included as an indicator of entrepreneurial activity by individuals.


Regional Cities Lead In Trademarks (New School Indicator: Trademark Applications) Across regional Australia there was a total of 25,218 (30 per cent) trademark applications between 2005 and 2014, in comparison to 54,611 (70 per cent) in the capital cities, demonstrating the concentration of trademark applications in the mainland capitals. The majority of trademark applications in regional Australia were contributed by Regional Cities with 11,173 applications and nine cities in the top 10 regional LGAs in terms of total trademark applications. Regional Cities of Gold Coast, Toowoomba (Qld), Gosford (NSW), Bundaberg (Qld) and Lismore (NSW) make up the top five regional LGAs. Of the other regional types, the Heartland Regions accounted for the second highest total (4,484), followed by Connected Lifestyle Regions (3,932) and Industry and Services Hubs (3,409).


However, while the Heartland Regions collectively account for the second highest number of trademark applications across regional Australia, more than 60 had no applications at all over the decade. In terms of patent intensity (number of patents per 10,000 working age population), metropolitan areas such as Peppermint Grove and Claremont (WA) and Adelaide CBD (SA) are the top performing metros, while Heartland Regions with relatively small populations such as Croydon (NSW), Burke (Qld), Lockhart River and Pormpuraaw (Qld) score well on this ratio and comprise four of the top five LGAs. Indicator Description Source Trademark applications

Average annual number of applications for trademarks per 10,000 working age population Trademarks applications provide an indicator of innovative activity within business. Registered trademarks provide legal protection of goods or services. Any feature (or combination of features) that distinguishes goods or services from others can be registered as a trade mark - letters, numbers, words, phrases, sounds, smells, shapes, logos, pictures or aspects of packaging.xxi

IP Australia & MIIPA

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