8101.0 - Innovation and Technology Update, Feb 2009  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 13/02/2009   
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3 INNOVATION STATISTICS

3.1 ABS INNOVATION REFERENCE GROUP
3.2 RECENTLY RELEASED INNOVATION STATISTICS
3.3 SOME USEFUL RELEASES ON INNOVATION STATISTICS BY OTHER AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN COLLABORATION WITH ABS
3.4 CONFIDENTIALISED UNIT RECORD FILES (CURFs)
3.5 SOME USEFUL NON-ABS WEBSITES ON INNOVATION STATISTICS


3.1 ABS INNOVATION REFERENCE GROUP

The Innovation Reference Group, which provides advice to the ABS on innovation issues, including research and development, met at the ABS on 24 September 2008. Members from the following key stakeholder organisations participated in the meeting: Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research (DIISR), Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, CSIRO, Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR), Productivity Commission and Universities Australia.

Key items discussed in the meeting included:

  • recommendations of the Australian Innovation System Review, including the Textiles, Clothing and Footwear Review;
  • directions of the innovation and business characteristics work program;
  • the Business Longitudinal Database (BLD), and its use in analytical work; and
  • the Tasmanian Innovation Survey conducted by the Australian Innovation Research Centre.

The next Innovation Reference Group meeting is scheduled for late March 2009.

3.2 RECENTLY RELEASED INNOVATION STATISTICS

The collection of information about Innovation in Australian business is now part of the Integrated Business Characteristics Strategy (IBCS). The implementation of the IBCS represents a significant expansion in the range of information available about innovation in business. In comparison to the previous stand-alone collection, the scope of the new survey is broader and includes micro businesses and some additional industry divisions. There is additional information related to marketing method innovation and the status of innovation has been broadened from purely implemented or introduced innovation to now include innovation still in development and abandoned innovative activity.

Innovation statistics are now available annually and, while the collection of detailed information about business practices related to innovation continue to be available biennially, business characteristics data are collected every year which are available cross-classified by innovator status (i.e. for innovating businesses, non-innovating businesses and all business). The latest issue of this release is Summary of IT Use and Innovation in Australian Business, 2006-07 (cat. no. 8166.0), released on 26 June 2008.

The latest release of detailed innovation data, Innovation in Australian Business, 2006-07 (cat. no. 8158.0), was released on 22 August 2008 and included detailed information about business practices related to innovation. This release was a combination of web based information and data cubes, and revealed that 37% of Australian businesses undertook some form of innovation in 2006-07.

The publication Selected Characteristics of Australian Businesses, 2006-07 (cat. no. 8167.0), released on 19 September 2008, included a range of general business characteristics cross classified by innovator status.

For more information about business characteristics outputs (including BUIT, Innovation and general business characteristics), please contact Peter Hodgson, Innovation and Technology Business Statistics Centre, ABS on (08) 9360 5367.

3.3 SOME USEFUL RELEASES ON INNOVATION STATISTICS BY OTHER AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN COLLABORATION WITH ABS

3.3.1 PATTERNS OF INNOVATION IN AUSTRALIAN MANUFACTURING 2003 - DIISR (DEPARTMENT OF INNOVATION, INDUSTRY, SCIENCE AND RESEARCH)


Synopsis

This research paper presents an analysis of innovation in Australian manufacturing for the 2001-2003 reference period using micro-level data from the ABS Innovation Survey 2003.

Some of the main results from the publication:
  • In 2001-03, businesses in the manufacturing sector were, on average, more likely to report introducing an innovation compared with businesses in the non-manufacturing sectors.
  • The Petroleum, Coal, Chemical & Associated Products and the Machinery & Equipment industries were consistently ranked in the top three manufacturing industries by percentage of innovating businesses, as well as by the percentage of businesses implementing the three classes of innovation (i.e. goods/services, operational process and organisational process innovation) in 2001-2003.
  • Based on the analyses, it was identified that manufacturing businesses generally have a higher propensity to implement each of the three classes of innovations than non-manufacturing businesses as a whole.

Link: Patterns of innovation in Australian Manufacturing 2003.

3.3.2 ASPECTS OF SKILLS SHORTAGES AND INNOVATION IN AUSTRALIAN BUSINESSES - DIISR


Synopsis

This research paper investigates the incidence of skills shortages that were reported to have hampered innovation in innovating businesses in Australia. It uses micro-data from the ABS 2003 Innovation Survey, and investigates the association between such skills shortages and other key business characteristics such as size, ownership, industry, location, age, and type of skill generally sought.

According to the analyses, smaller innovating businesses were more likely to experience skills shortages which hampered innovation (SSHI) than larger businesses. In addition, domestically owned businesses were identified as being more likely to experience skills shortages hampering innovation than those businesses with a degree of foreign ownership.

The proportion of ‘frontier’ innovating businesses – i.e. those with new to the world innovations – that experience SSHI was less than those exhibiting lower degrees of novelty of innovation. Innovating businesses that engaged in both product and process innovation were more likely to experience SSHI, reflecting the greater depth and diversity of skill required to conduct both types of innovation.

Innovating businesses that sought out skills in the ‘other’ (likely to be mostly trades) ‘engineering’ and ‘product management’ skill categories were more likely to experience SSHI. While a relatively high proportion of businesses seeking ‘information technology’ skills reported experiencing SSHI, the econometric analysis, which provides a better indication of the association between SSHI and a given skill category (independent of the influence of other variates in the model) indicated very little association between SSHI and the ‘information technology’ skill category.

Link: Aspects of Skills Shortages and Innovation in Australian Businesses.

3.3.3 COLLABORATION AND OTHER FACTORS INFLUENCING INNOVATION IN AUSTRALIAN BUSINESSES - DIISR


Synopsis

This research paper presents the results of an econometric investigation into innovation novelty, collaboration and related characteristics in Australian businesses using micro-data from the ABS 2003 Innovation Survey.

Many innovations, especially those of a more complex nature, seem commonly to take place in conjunction with collaboration. The range of skills and knowledge required to successfully carry out innovation often means that an innovating business may be forced to seek complementary skills to those already held in-house. Such a business may seek external skills and experience in one or more of various areas including R&D, systems modification, specialist manufacturing, or branding and marketing.

Link: Collaboration and Other factors Influencing Innovation Novelty in Australian Businesses.

3.3.4 VENTUROUSAUSTRALIA - THE REPORT OF THE REVIEW OF THE NATIONAL INNOVATION SYSTEM - DIISR

venturousaustralia, the report of the Review of the National Innovation System, was released on 9 September 2008. The report contains 72 recommendations to improve the National Innovation System, a number of which relate to the measurement of innovation in Australia and the roles the ABS could play in this. A White Paper in response to the report is expected to be released by DIISR in early 2009.


3.4 CONFIDENTIALISED UNIT RECORD FILES (CURFs)

The Business Longitudinal Database (BLD) CURF is expected to be released in late July 2009. The CURF will contain a time series of both characteristics and financial data for a sample of small and medium businesses. It will include data on innovation collected through the Business Characteristics Survey and will be the second CURF to contain innovation data, with the first being the Innovation in Australian Business (2003) Expanded CURF released on 9 August 2007. For contact details relating to the BLD CURF, please refer to section 2.2 of this newsletter. For further information on the Innovation in Australian Business (2003) Expanded CURF, please refer to Innovation in Australian Business, Expanded Confidentialised Unit Record File, 2003, Technical Manual (cat. no. 8158.0.55.002).

3.5 SOME USEFUL NON-ABS WEBSITES ON INNOVATION STATISTICS

Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research (DIISR)
http://www.innovation.gov.au

Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR)
http://www.deewr.gov.au

Productivity Commission (PC)
http://www.pc.gov.au

Backing Australia's ability website
http://backingaus.innovation.gov.au

Biotechnology Australia
http://www.biotechnology.gov.au