University of Tasmania, Australia

The Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research requested the AIRC to provide a descriptive analysis and profile of Research and Development activity for Tasmanian firms.

The Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research requested the AIRC to provide a descriptive analysis and profile of Research and Development (R&D) activity for Tasmanian firms.  This included firms undertaking intensive R&D, and those that weren’t, but had innovation capabilities.  In addition to this, the AIRC were requested to provide a descriptive analysis of the nature of R&D and innovation in the Tasmanian food industry, which would provide insight into this industry sector in the rest of Australia.

This project drew on the data resources of the 2007 Tasmanian Innovation Census, and included data relating to several aspects of innovative activity.  Patterns of business R&D in Tasmania were compared to Australia, and an overview of R&D tax concessions was discussed.  A profile of R&D in Tasmania based on industry, firm size, and region was provided, and included data relating to R&D indicators for Tasmania (such as expenditure, intensity and research field); data relating to the characteristics of firms reporting R&D and those not reporting R&D; data relating to firms which did and did not report government support for R&D; and an analysis of data relating to the relationship between R&D and innovative activity.  An analysis of R&D in the food sector compared R&D and innovation indicators for this industry to other industries.

The findings from this project were presented to Commonwealth stakeholders in May 2011.

Members

• Professor Anthony Arundel
• Kieran O'Brien