How innovative are Tassie businesses?
The Australian Innovation Research Centre (AIRC), UTAS Faculty of Business, is conducting a third Tasmanian Innovation Census (TIC).
The TIC is an ongoing study of the innovative activities of Tasmanian businesses with five or more employees, with the first conducted in 2007 and second in 2010.
The third TIC will be conducted between September and December 2013 and will cover innovation activities over the past three years to June 2013.
Director of AIRC, Professor Anthony Arundel, said the TIC is the only source of innovation data for all business sectors in Tasmania.
“We would like all Tasmanian businesses in scope to consider participating.
“The 2010 study showed that 87.1 per cent of Tasmanian businesses introduced at least one type of innovation in the three years to June 2010,” Prof Arundel said.
“This covered a remarkably diverse range of innovations. In addition to product innovation, many businesses introduced process and organisational innovations to improve efficiency and the quality of services.”
Examples included computerising manufacturing processes, using new technology to interact with customers, implementing new management techniques and marketing methods, and training staff in the use of innovative technologies and software.
MrsSarah Gatenby-Clark, AIRC, said to ensure comparability with the 2007 and 2010 studies, the 2013 TIC repeats key questions on the types of innovations introduced by businesses as well as questions on innovation activities and outputs.
“This will let AIRC researchers identify changes in innovative activities and capabilities in the Tasmanian economy over time,” she said.
“In addition, the 2013 study includes new questions on forms of knowledge transfer, capabilities, skills and business practices.”
The TIC is distinct from other innovation surveys in that it aims to survey the entire target population, rather than a sample of the target population, covering firms in all sectors of the Tasmanian economy.
To date the TIC has resulted in reports for the Tasmanian business community, academic publications and policy relevant research for local, state and federal governments.
These research outputs cover topic areas such as innovation collaboration, capability development, innovation measurement, eco-innovation and innovation in the digital economy. Further details can be found on the AIRC website.
The TIC data collection phase will be conducted using Computer Assisted Telephone Interviews, with fieldwork to be completed in December 2013. Data processing and editing will be undertaken in early 2014 and results will be published in the second half of 2014.
All participating businesses will receive a summary report of the main results in 2014.
For more information about the 2013 TIC, please contact Sarah Gatenby-Clark on (03) 6226 7384 at the AIRC, or email Admin.AIRC@utas.edu.au