New NSW R&D plan for SMEs receives support from Business Council

Under the Turning Ideas into Jobs – Accelerating Research & Development in NSW Action Plan, the NSW government recommended five priority areas of action, as well as 16 supporting actions, aimed at accelerating the rate at which ideas are translated into new industries, jobs, products and services.

The five priority areas under the plan include:

1. Launching a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program;
2. Boosting open data;
3. Turbocharging precincts;
4. Targeting strategic support for NSW universities; and
5. Establishing an R&D matchmaking platform.

“The pandemic has reinforced to us the power of collaboration. The private sector, academia and the NSW government collaborated to unlock crucial supplies and to solve difficult problems on behalf of the people of NSW,” said NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian.

“We are now bottling that spirit of collaboration and applying it to how we support R&D across the state. This is only the start of the commitments we will be making to R&D.

“R&D will be a powerful jobs creator during our economic recovery. For every dollar invested in R&D, there can be an economic benefit of 14 dollars in return.”

Business Council of Australia chief executive Jennifer Westacott welcomed the plan, saying it will help make NSW the best place in the country for businesses that want to invest, expand and create new jobs.

“Combined with the state’s world-leading management of the virus and job creation-focused budget, this helps put NSW at the front of the pack when it comes to attracting the new investment we need to create new jobs and world-leading industries,” Ms Westacott said.

“We congratulate the NSW government for setting the example and leading the way on reform.”