IRL Confident About The Future

Media Release

17 February 2011

IRL Confident About The Future

On Wednesday 16 February IRL Chief Executive Shaun Coffey informed the Education and Science Select Committee that the company was performing well, and had good future prospects provided it maintained its current momentum.

Among responses to Committee questions, Shaun Coffey made a number of points.

Revenue growth for IRL is expected to be about 10% this year.  This is a continuation of a four-year trend, and increasingly this growth is from private sector investment.

Referring to overseas experiences, Mr Coffey suggested that oversight on direction and strategy needed to be kept at a whole-of-government level, and involve industry and the community.  Many countries, for example, have a Prime Minister’s Science Council.

To increase commitment it is important that business, industry and the community join with Government to agree national strategies.  A risk could be that the new Ministry of Science and Innovation might be seen narrowly, as the Government’s sole player.  The whole-of-government commitment currently being demonstrated remains important.  Several times Mr Coffey referred to the commitment shown by the Prime Minister to research and innovation.

Mr Coffey noted there is currently good political will for change and this should be capitalised upon.

Industry is starting to invest more in R&D with IRL and, given the right incentives and policy setting, IRL could lift the industry proportion of investment in its activities to 50% over a 5-10 year period. Current revenue growth suggests this is feasible.
                  

There is still a way to go, and the key task ahead is to grow further private sector investment in research and development and innovation.  The manufacturing and industrial sectors served by IRL represent about a third of the economy.  However, examination of total investment in CRIs shows the IRL budget is about 1/8th of the total.  Growth needs to come largely from industry.

Speaking after the committee hearing, Mr Coffey reiterated that business and industry is starting to respond positively to the challenge of innovation. 

“The rapid uptake by firms of the Government’s Technology Voucher Scheme and the Technology Development Programme show a keen and escalating interest in innovation.  These are excellent ways to stimulate industry participation.  The experience of IRL with its own co-investment programme mirrors this interest.

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