Research and development for the triple bottom line in Australia's forest based industries

1
Research and development for the triple bottom
line in Australia's forest based industries

• G.A Kile
• Executive Director
• Forest and Wood Products Research and
• Development Corporation

2
Innovation

• Introduction of change to improve performance
• Application of new technology
• New ways of doing things (organisation and
  procedures)
• R D the earliest stages of the innovation
  process

3
Drivers of change in the forest based industries

• Increased importance of marketing and knowledge
• Sustainable production
• Competition from substitutes/in-wood substitution
  
• Industry image competitiveness

4
Drivers of change in the forest based industries
(contd)

• Resource access/environmental services
• Internationalisation /globalisation
• New science (IT, biotechnology, materials
  science)
• Increased involvement of industry in ST strategy
  , supporting RD

5
Industry orientations (after Cohen and Kozac 2001)

• Forestry
• Production
• Market
• Knowledge

6
Forest industries R D Infrastructure

• Impact of a decade of Government(S) fixed
  constraint
• More competitive funding schemes (short termism
• Contraction of state forest agencies R D
  capacity and capability
• CSIRO adoptivity nire commercial approach
• Universities areas of expertise
• Industry in house capacity reduced?
• Overseas competition

7
FWPRDC Going Forward

• New 5 Year R D Plan under development
• Reflect changing industry focus/priorities
• Opportunity in development of common purpose in
  relation to precompetitive R D and technology
  development and environmental performace

8
The FWPRDC Going Forward Benefits Sought

• More market led R D
• More strategic and proactive approach to
  investment
• Greater transparency/simpler reporting
• More investment in R D

9
Conclusions

• Increasingly complex market, technical and
  environmental issues
• Technological change key to maintaining
  competitive position
• Industry underinvests in R D
• Industry support for partnerships with
  government, research providers, suppliers to
  minimise return on limited resource available
• There are no short cuts to any place worth going