Backing Australia's Ability (BAA) was a five-year

innovation Innovation is the practical implementation of ideas that result in the introduction of new goods or service (economics), services or improvement in offering goods or services. ISO TC 279 in the standard ISO 56000:2020 defines innovation as "a n ...

plan launched by the

Howard government The Howard government refers to the Government of Australia, federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister John Howard between 11 March 1996 and 3 December 2007. It was made up of members of the Liberal Party of Australia, Li ...

in January 2001.

Previous policy

Previous policies for this group of portfolios under the Howard government were: * ''Investing for Growth'', December 199

() 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 (VC) is a form of private equity financing provided by firms or funds to start-up company, startup, early-stage, and emerging companies, that have been deemed to have high growth potential or that have demonstrated high growth in ...

and technology diffusion. * ''Knowledge and Innovation'', December 199

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 (government), Cabinet established as part of the initiative to oversee the implementation of Backing Australia's Ability. It is composed of: *

Prime Minister of Australia The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister is the chair of the Cabinet of Australia and thus the head of the Australian Government, federal executive government. Under the pr ...

, chairman * Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources, Ian Macfarlane * Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Richard Alston followed by

Helen Coonan Helen Lloyd Coonan (born 29 October 1947) is a former Australian politician who was a Senator for New South Wales from 1996 to 2011, representing the Liberal Party. She was a minister in the Howard government, serving as Minister for Revenue an ...

since July 2004 * Minister for Education, Science and Training,

Brendan Nelson Brendan John Nelson (born 19 August 1958) is an Australian business leader, physician and former politician. He served as the federal Leader of the Opposition from 2007 to 2008, going on to serve as Australia's senior diplomat to the European ...

followed by

Julie Bishop Julie Isabel Bishop (born 17 July 1956) is an Australian former politician who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs (Australia), Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2013 to 2018 and Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia#Federal deputy leader ...

since January 2006 * Minister for Finance and Administration,

Nick Minchin Nicholas Hugh Minchin (born 15 April 1953) is an Australian former politician and former Australian Consul-General in New York. He previously served as a Liberal member of the Australian Senate representing South Australia from July 1993 to J ...

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. The objectives were: * an additional $736 million for

Australian Research Council The Australian Research Council (ARC) is the primary non-medical research funding agency of the Australian Government, distributing more than in grants each year. The Council was established by the ''Australian Research Council Act 2001'', ...

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 and communications technology (ICT) is an extensional term for information technology (IT) that stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of telecommunications (telephone lines and wireless signals) and computer ...

and

biotechnology Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and Engineering Science, engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists ...

* 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, and encouraging greater access by

small and medium enterprise Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are businesses whose personnel and revenue numbers fall below certain limits. The abbreviation "SME" is used by many national agencies and international organizat ...

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, 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, subtitled "Building our future through science and innovation", which is referred to as "BAA2". 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 The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government agency that is responsible for scientific research and its commercial and industrial applications. CSIRO works with leading organisations arou ...

''National Research Flagships'' * an additional $200 million for

National Health and Medical Research Council The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) is the main statutory authority of the Australian Government responsible for medical research. It was the eighth largest research funding body in the world in 2016, and NHMRC-funded res ...

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 Counterterrorism (alternatively spelled: counter-terrorism), also known as anti-terrorism, relates to the practices, military tactics, techniques, and strategies that governments, law enforcement, businesses, and intelligence agencies use to co ...

needs

References

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External links