Backing Australia's Ability was a five year innovation

Innovation

Innovation is the creation of better or more effective products, processes, technologies, or ideas that are accepted by markets, governments, and society...

 plan launched in January 2001 by Prime Minister John Howard

John Howard

John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....

.

Previous policy

• Investing for Growth, December 1997 http://www.pm.gov.au/news/speeches/1997/industry.htm (ISBN 0-642-28095-9) increased support for business innovation by providing $1.26 billion over the four years from 1998-99, including additional funding for R&D grants, venture capital
  Venture capital
  Venture capital is financial capital provided to early-stage, high-potential, high risk, growth startup companies. The venture capital fund makes money by owning equity in the companies it invests in, which usually have a novel technology or business model in high technology industries, such as...
  
   and technology diffusion.
• Knowledge and Innovation, December 1999 http://www.dest.gov.au/archive/highered/whitepaper/default.asp announced a new policy and funding framework for higher education research and research training.

Science and Innovation Committee

The Science and Innovation Committee (SIC), originally known as the Ministerial Committee to Oversight Implementation of Backing Australia's Ability (MCOIBAA), is a sub-committee of Cabinet

Cabinet (government)

A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...

 established as part of the initiative to oversee the implementation of Backing Australia's Ability. It is composed of :

• Prime Minister of Australia
  Prime Minister of Australia
  The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
  
  , chairman
• Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources, Ian Macfarlane
  Ian Macfarlane (politician)
  Ian Elgin Macfarlane , is an Australian politician. He was elected as a member of the Australian House of Representatives in October 1998, representing the Division of Groom, Queensland for the Liberal National Party...
  
  
• Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Richard Alston
  Richard Alston (politician)
  Richard Kenneth Robert Alston was a Liberal member of the Australian Senate from 1986 to 2004, representing the state of Victoria....
  
   followed by Helen Coonan
  Helen Coonan
  Helen Lloyd Coonan is a former Australian politician, who was a Liberal member of the Australian Senate representing New South Wales from July 1996 to August 2011.-Early life:...
  
   since July 2004
• Minister for Education, Science and Training
  Minister for Education, Science and Training (Australia)
  The Australian Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth has responsibilities which include the following areas:*Education policy and programs including schools, vocational, higher education and Indigenous education, but excluding migrant adult education*Education and training...
  
  , Brendan Nelson
  Brendan Nelson
  Dr Brendan John Nelson is a former Australian politician and former federal Opposition leader. He served as a member of the Australian House of Representatives from the 1996 federal election until 19 October 2009 as the Liberal member for Bradfield, a northern Sydney seat...
  
   followed by Julie Bishop
  Julie Bishop
  Julie Isabel Bishop is an Australian politician and the current Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of Australia. She holds this title as the deputy leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. She is the party's first female Deputy Leader and the third woman in Australian history to...
  
   since January 2006
• Minister for Finance and Administration
  Minister for Finance and Administration (Australia)
  In the Australian political system, the Minister for Finance and Deregulation supplements the role of the Treasurer, being responsible for areas such as budget policy advice, reviewing governmental programs, tendering and government financial accountability. The portfolio was first created in 1976...
  
  , Nick Minchin
  Nick Minchin
  Nicholas Hugh "Nick" Minchin is a former Australian politician, serving as a Liberal member of the Australian Senate representing South Australia from July 1993 to June 2011, and a former cabinet minister in the Howard Government....
  
  

An Innovation Action Plan for the Future

The initiative set aside AUD 2.9 billion over five years 2001-02 to 2005-06, overseen by a Science and Innovation Ministerial Council, chaired by the Prime Minister and advised by the Chief Scientist

Office of the Chief Scientist (Australia)

The Office of the Chief Scientist is part of Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research . Its primary responsibilities are to support the Chief Scientist and the Prime Minister's Science, Engineering and Innovation Council .-Chief Scientist:The Chief Scientist is responsible for...

.

The objectives were:

• an additional $736 million for Australian Research Council
  Australian Research Council
  The Australian Research Council is the Australian Government’s main agency for allocating research funding to academics and researchers in Australian universities. Its mission is to advance Australia’s capacity to undertake research that brings economic, social and cultural benefit to the...
  
   competitive grants, doubling funding by 2005-06
• an additional $583 million for research infrastructure
• an additional $176 million for world class centres of excellence in Information and Communications Technology
  Information technology
  Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
  
   and biotechnology
  Biotechnology
  Biotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...
  
  
• providing $155 million to support investments in major national research facilities
• $535 million over five years for the R&D Start Program
• reforming the R&D tax concession
  • a premium rate of 175 per cent for additional R&D activity
  • a tax rebate for small companies
• an additional $227 million for the Cooperative Research Centres Program
  Cooperative Research Centre
  Cooperative Research Centres are key bodies for Australian scientific research. The Cooperative Research Centres Program was established in 1990 to enhance Australia's industrial, commercial and economic growth through the development of sustained, user-driven, cooperative public-private research...
  
  , and encouraging greater access by small and medium enterprise
  Small and medium enterprise
  Small and medium enterprises or small and medium-sized enterprises are companies whose headcount or turnover falls below certain limits.The abbreviation "SME" occurs commonly...
  
  s
• an additional $151 million to universities, to create 2000 additional university places each year, with priority given to ICT, mathematics and science – to be backed by adjustments to existing immigration arrangements to attract more migrants with ICT skills
• $130 million to foster scientific, mathematical and technological skills and innovation in government schools in those States where the Enrolment Benchmark Adjustment (EBA) is triggered.
• $246 million for a new Systemic Infrastructure Initiative
  Systemic Infrastructure Initiative
  The Systemic Infrastructure Initiative was announced by the Government of Australia in January 2001 as part of Backing Australia's Ability – An Innovation Action Plan for the Future....
  
  , to upgrade the basic infrastructure of universities, such as scientific and research equipment, libraries and laboratory facilities

Building our Future through Science and Innovation

On 4 May 2004 the Prime Minister announced a second plan.

The objectives were:

• $1 billion for a new Commercial Ready programme
• $542 million for a new National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy
• an additional $305 million for CSIRO National Research Flagships
• an additional $200 million for National Health and Medical Research Council
  National Health and Medical Research Council
  The National Health and Medical Research Council is Australia's peak funding body for medical research, with a budget of roughly 700 million dollars a year...
  
   to assist independent medical research institutions
• an additional $100 million or the Commercialising Emerging Technologies (COMET) programme
• $38.8 million for a new Maths, Science and Innovation Teaching initiative that will involve research bodies and undergraduates in primary and secondary school classes
• $7.2 million to co-ordinate and focus research in support of Australia's counter-terrorism
  Counter-terrorism
  Counter-terrorism is the practices, tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, militaries, police departments and corporations adopt to prevent or in response to terrorist threats and/or acts, both real and imputed.The tactic of terrorism is available to insurgents and governments...
  
   needs

See also

• Measuring Australia's Progress

External links

• Backing Australia's Ability website
  • Archive on Pandora Archive
    Pandora Archive
    PANDORA - Australia's Web Archive is the national web archive for the preservation of Australia's online publications. It was established by the National Library of Australia in 1996, and is now built in collaboration with a number of other Australian state libraries and cultural collecting...
    
    
• Backing Australia's Ability Policy Launch
• Backing Australia's Future