Innovation and science are critical for Australia to deliver new sources of growth, maintain high-wage jobs and seize the next wave of economic prosperity.
The National Innovation and Science Agenda will drive innovation in government, promote a culture of entrepreneurship and place innovation at the heart of everything we do.
Reforming procurement through a Digital Marketplace
The Government is investing $15 million to create a new digital marketplace to make it easier for startups and small and medium businesses to sell to and work with government.
The Digital Transformation Office (DTO) will develop the Digital Marketplace - an online directory of digital and ICT services from which government agencies will procure - to improve competition and promote innovation across government.
The Digital Marketplace will break down barriers to entry and make it easier for startups and small and medium businesses to compete for the $5 billion government spends on ICT each year.
Promoting collaboration in cyber security
The Government is investing $30 million to establish an industry-led Cyber Security Growth Centre to create business opportunities for Australia’s cyber security industries.
Attacks on Australia’s cyber network costs billions of dollars to the economy each year.
The Growth Centre will bring together industry, researchers and governments to develop a national cyber security strategy and coordinate research to reduce overlap and maximise impact. This will help all Australians and businesses be safer and more secure online.
It is the first initiative to be delivered under the Government’s Cyber Security Strategy, to be released in 2016.
Supporting data-driven innovation through open data
The Government will also release a Public Data Policy Statement as part of the National Innovation and Science Agenda to formalise the Government’s commitment to open data and data-driven innovation.
Government agencies will now be required to make appropriate data openly available by default in machine readable and anonymised form through data.gov.au
Spatial data, in particular, is becoming increasingly important to the economy given the rapid take-up and use of mobile devices in Australia.
The Government will release one of the most requested high-value datasets, PSMA Australia’s (PSMA) Geocoded National Address File (G-NAF), and their Administrative Boundaries datasets.
Making the G-NAF available under open data terms will remove barriers that restrict the data’s use and promote innovation.
These measures combined will help to create a more innovative and entrepreneurial Australia.
More information on the NISA is available at www.innovation.gov.au