Government IP report promotes research and business collaboration

One of the barriers towards collaborations between publicly funded research organisations (PFROs) and the private sector is the strictures of intellectual property.

So says a report released today by the Advisory Council on Intellectual Property, which was appointed in 2010 by the former Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, Senator the Hon Kim Carr, to review how IP acts as an enabler or disabler for research collaborations.

The report has made a number of recommendations to improve research collaborations, chief among them reforming the incentive structures that presently steer researchers away from working with the private sector.

The report acknowledged that many researchers, particularly early in their career, are so dependent on ARC and NHMRC funding that they are reluctant to engage in any activity that might reduce their chances of receiving competitive grants.

Given that collaborations with industry are not recognised in awarding ARC and NHMRC grants, researchers are motivated to focus purely on publicly funded research activities.

As such, the report recommends “developing mechanisms to increase the motivation of PFROs and their researchers to improve the level of collaborations with industry.”

The report also recommends a number of measures intended to improve education and provide resources to researchers and to industry, particularly small and medium businesses, to help negotiate and conduct collaborations.

It also recommends loosening some of the requirements issued by the government before publicly funded institutions can collaborate with business.

The full review can be found on the Advisory Council on Intellectual Property site.