The Australian government has announced a huge $2.2 billion gov grant to bolster Australia’s commercialisation outcomes. The news was welcomed by Knowledge Commercialisation Australasia (KCA), the peak body representing university research commercialisation units, with the government assistance set to help startups with new funding opportunities and bridge the commercialisation ‘valley of death’.
The billion-dollar government assistance will be issued in response to the University Research Commercialisation Action Plan. The Action Plan was guided by an expert panel of university and industry leaders who used real-world experience and research to discover ways to increase the translation and commercialisation of Australian university research. The business funding will go toward the key success factors identified in the report including at scale investments, founder and industry led innovations, collaboration, and research. According to KCA, the initiative has the potential to foster change in industry-university relationships and research and should provide Australia with the opportunity to become a global leader in the sector. KCA Chair, Mr Quin Chang stated, “KCA has long advocated for investment in the sector through its active engagement with the university research commercialisation process, we welcome these initiatives and hope they will be quickly implemented.”
What Will This Mean for my Startup?
Startups operating in one of the six sectors of ‘national priority’ should see increased innovation opportunities. These industries of emerging priority, due to the projection that they will deliver long-term transformational outcomes for Australia’s economy, include medical products, food and beverage, recycling and cleantech, resource technology and critical minerals processing, defence, and space.
Amongst research related incentives, the Action Plan recommends a $1.6 billion investment over 11 years to establish Australia’s Economic Accelerator – a new stage-gated program dedicated to funding translation and commercialisation in priority areas. Projects will receive funding if they are able to meet the program’s requirements, with successful projects graduating into Major Sequence Ventures. Grants will be available from 1 July 2022 on a rolling basis.
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Grants & Government Funding