Aquaculture – invitation from Chennai

I read with great interest about your Cockatoo Network. Our prime areas of interest are Aquaculture (Barramundi Aquafarming) and Marine Biotechnology (production of Chitin & Chitosan).

Maritech has been involved in development, implementing and operating Aquaculture projects since 1989 in India, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Saudi Arabia, etc. as Project Consultants. We have played a key role in transfer of technology in India during the boom days in early 1990s.

Barramundi farming & Marine Biotechnology have a large scope & potential in India. We are keen to cooperate with your network to establish collaboration and investment in India. Also, there is some interest among Indian investors to look for potential in Aquaculture in various South East Asian countries.

Let me know how we can collaborate with you.

Contributed by S. Santhana Krishnan, Chief Executive, Marine Technologies
37, 1st Street, Anna Colony, Besant Nagar, Chennai 600 090, INDIA Tel.91-44-4551 1214

(Certain Cockatoo members have already replied, and networking activity is underway – Editor)

Map the economic geography, says World Bank (BEST PRACTICE)

 

The “World Development Report 2009: Reshaping Economic Geography” argues that the most effective policies for promoting long-term growth are those that facilitate geographic concentration and economic integration, both within and across countries.

 

The WDR report challenges the assumption that economic activities must be spread geographically to benefit the world’s most poor and vulnerable.

 

Trying to spread out economic activity can hinder growth and does little to fight poverty. For rapid, shared growth, governments must promote economic integration which is about the mobility of people, products, and ideas – integration should be the pivotal concept, and the debates on urbanization, regional development, and globalization should focus on the location of production and people.

 

(Very significant position for the World Bank to adopt – it flags a move to the strategic lay-out of hubs etc. – Editor)

 

http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:21966677~pagePK:34370~piPK:34424~theSitePK:4607,00.html?cid=ISG_E_WBWeeklyUpdate_NL“

Tories Release Small Business Platform

 

Recent Labor Party losses in local elections have emboldened the UK Conservative Party, which has released several policy proposals.

 

One examines how Great Britain can reform and streamline current public support programs for small business.

 

According to the study, Britain is now home to 3,000 different business support programs run by 2,000 public bodies at an annual cost of £2.5. billion. The report recommends:

§ major streamlining of these efforts, and a commitment to rigorous evaluation of programs.

§  the creation of a single web-based Business Information Service.

§  new approaches to expanding small business finance resources.

§  a program modeled on the US’s Small Business Investment Research.

§  expansion of youth entrepreneurship education programs.

 

Go to Small Business and Government: The Richard Report

UK Creative Industries (BEST PRACTICE)

 

 

Compared with other sectors, the business dimension of the creative industries is inadequately understood despite their growing significance in the UK economy. According to a recent NESTA study, these industries are highly innovative – the UK has no problem in starting creative businesses, but it struggles to grow them. They lack the necessary skills and commercial awareness. Stronger entrepreneurship education is crucial.

 

 

A KITE project is bringing together researchers to identify and evaluate sustainable business models in creative industries. Web:  http://www.ncl.ac.uk/kite/staff/profile/a.j.lane

 

Anyone for investment tie-ups with Australia?

 

The Cockatoo Network, which I manage, is recognised globally for its efforts to build collaboration and alliances. Our main fields are industry development, investment attraction and innovation.

In our experience, the strongest success factor in investment attraction is the ability of localities to connect their knowledge, competencies, resources and people – both internally and externally.

With respect to the external dimension, we are in discussions with development agencies in India and the USA to link networks and clusters across different localities. We believe this will significantly enhance the connectivity of companies and research organisations, as well as the competitive advantages of the towns and regions concerned.

The particular problem we are addressing is the large element of ’hit and miss’ involved in innovation and commercial deals. This is intuitively understood by development agencies and companies, which is why they spend a lot of time connecting people via meetings, conferences, newsletters, websites, investment missions etc.

Take the example of the IT sector, where millions of executives and their staff worldwide compete daily to win business and to position themselves in each others’ markets. They crave knowledge about which agencies are letting contracts, who are the key decision-makers, and which local companies they should be getting close to. This is a costly and time-consuming activity because only a small percentage of firms are amenable to joint ventures or deals at a given time, and trust is not generated overnight. Wouldn’t life be easier if you had an agency on-the-ground to assist?

We are therefore in the process of identifying those networks that are serious and active about collaboration and two-way investment. The aim is to have a multi-country platform that identifies and connects the key agencies within particular industries. Our initial focus is on aquaculture, automotive parts, biofuels, biotech; dairy foods, electronics, environmental management; food manufacturing; healthcare; information technology; marine engineering; telecommunications; textiles.

 We will be travelling to India and the USA – and then progressively to Thailand, Europe and other nations to complete our feasibility study. We are looking for potential collaborators. If you have a common interest, we surely would like to hear from you!

Rod Brown, Cockatoo Network, Canberra phone 61-2-62317261 or apd@orac.net.au

Australia – Budget funding focus on infrastructure, water, fellowships

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The Australian Treasurer has handed down the 2008-09 Budget

The stand-out in the Australian Government’s Budget, from an economic development perspective, are significant budgetary surpluses to address perceived inflationary pressures and to inject $40 billion in three nation‑building funds — a Building Australia Fund, an Education Investment Fund and a Health and Hospitals Fund.

 

The main industry-related measures announced are: 

§ Clean Business Australia initiatives ($240m over 4 years) – includes Climate Ready (see below), Re-tooling for Climate Change; Green Building Fund; Green Car Innovation Fund ($500m, commencing 2011)

§ Australian Postgraduate Award Scholarships ($209m)

§ Future Fellowships – to attract/retain mid-career researchers ($326m over 4 years)

§ Business Enterprise Centres – 30 one-stop-shops for small businesses ($42m over 4 years)

§ National network of Manufacturing Centres ($100m) – part of the Enterprise Connect initiative.

 

The main programs affected are:

 

§ Commercial Ready program and the Renewable Energy Development Initiative – closed. CR program expected to return in some form in 2009-10 Budget following Cutler Review.

§ Invest Australia disbanded – functions go to Austrade. Very strange decision.

§ Global Opportunities program – the $254m promised by Howard Government is withdrawn. Some funds to Austrade for salaries.  

§ Australian Industry Productivity Centres (AIPC) - replaced by Enterprise Connect.

§ Intermediary Access Program – never got off the ground. Might be resuscitated following Cutler Review? 

§ National Nanotechnology Strategy – closed from July 2009.  

 

Regional Development – Budget highlights

Almost $200 million has been cut from regional programs, although the infrastructure agenda will more than offset this. Axed are the controversial Regional Partnerships program ($236m), and the dubious Growing Regions Program ($200m), a pre-election promise by Howard.

Better Regions Program ($176 million) – to fund towns’ main streets, community and sporting centres, and community transport. Some of this funding appears to be already committed to pre-election promises in the Hunter Region, Kempsey, Geelong, Townsville, Bendigo, Alice Springs, Mandurah, Sunshine Coast, northern Tasmania.

Regional Development Australia (RDA) – replaces the Area Consultative Committees. The RDA apparatus will ostensibly take on a broader role to provide strategic input into national programs, improve the coordination of the Government’s regional development initiatives, and link closely to local governments and other regional organisations. The RDA’s final structure will be developed during 2008.

Regional Development Fund ($74m) – for ‘effective engagement with communities’ – details to be agreed, but $17m in 2008-09. Does not appear to be a Fund as such – rather small-scale funding for RDA initiatives.

Regional and Local Community Infrastructure Program – from July 2009 – to deliver major investments in regional and local community, recreational and environmental infrastructure initiatives. No $ details.

Agriculture – Budget highlights

Farmers – $130m over 4 years to help farmers tackle climate change. Grants of up to $5,500 to farmers for advice, training or preparing for a career change. And $760m for drought-afflicted farmers for 2008-09.

Forestry ($20m over 4 years) – for preparing the forestry industry for the future, including the impact of climate change and skills shortages.

Regional food producers’ program ($35m) – this is timely. Details next month.

**Cockatoo members** should note these three new initiatives

 

The ‘Water for the Future — National Urban Water and Desalination Plan’ – for cities to diversify their water supplies through desalination, recycling and stormwater harvesting. This is complemented by $254.8m in new funding to increase the security of water supplies in smaller cities and towns through Water for the Future — National Water Security Plan for Cities and Towns.

Climate Ready competitive grants ($75m) – to encourage Australian businesses to develop and commercialise products, processes & services that save energy and water, reduce pollution, use waste products in innovative ways. Examples – water recycling, waste recovery, small-scale renewable energy; green building materials to make homes more energy-efficient; reduced energy use in appliances. Grants on $ for $ basis – across R&D, proof-of-concept and pre-commercialisation activities. Grants from $10,000 to $500,000. Funding starts July 2008.

Future Fellowships scheme ($326 m over 4 years) – for 1,000 Australian and international mid-career researchers –up to $140k a year. Host organisations also receive up to $50k a year for  infrastructure/equipment – for pure basic, strategic basic and applied research. Australian Research Council to administer – first round to commence in 2009.

Should you require further information on how to access these grants, you need to join the Cockatoo Network – please contact us at apd@orac.net.au

Role for regional clusters, says US study

Hi Cockatoo,

I wanted to pass this along in case you missed it. ‘Clusters and Competitiveness: A New Federal Role for Stimulating Regional Economies’ by Karen G. Mills, Elisabeth B. Reynolds, and Andrew Reamer.

A key point is that regional industry clusters – geographic concentrations of interconnected firms and supporting organizations – are a potent source of productivity at a moment of national vulnerability to global economic competition.

For that reason, the federal government should establish an industry clusters program that stimulates the collaborative interactions of firms and supporting organizations in regional economies to produce more commercial innovation and higher wage employment.  

Full Report: http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Fil … 0Report.pdf

Contributed by Russ Fletcher russ@MATR.net (Founder of Montana Associated Technology Roundtables)

Stu Rosenfeld (North Carolina) also reports that he was in Washington DC last month to attend the roll-out of two new studies at the National Press Club, one of which was covered by Russ Fletcher above.

Stu says ‘interesting ideas, but obviously will have to wait for new administration.’  The other document is ‘Boosting productivity, innovation, and growth through a national innovation foundation’ by Robert Atkinson and Howard Wial.

Contact Cockatoo for a copy! Go to apd@orac.net.au

Grid network to support trans-Tasman research collaboration

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With digital storage needs and computational demands by research institutions growing exponentially, it makes sense to get together on sharing resources. So the New Zealand Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) banged some heads together and offered to fund a $2.5 million project to set up BeSTGRID a grid computing “ecosystem” that includes additional storage resources hosted by a third party.

Three New Zealand universities are already hooked up, with the new arrangements which reduce duplication on software expenditure whilst encouraging collaboration and knowledge sharing through use of online tools such as video-conferencing, blogs and wikis. Other institutions are expected to join in the future. Research projects currently making use of BestGrid include linguistics, bio-informatics and earthquake engineering – possibilities are endless. .

It’s part of KAREN the government-owned high speed broadband network providing interconnectivity between NZ research and educational institutions (up to 10 gigabytes of data per second).

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the venture is that there will be established a shared identity management protocol based on the Australian Access Federation standard. The Federation is not some inter-galactic peace force, but a technical standard that operates across Australian tertiary and research institutions and allows universal access via a single user identification. That opens up the possibility of including Aussie universities and research institutions in the NZ grid by linking to Australia’s own high speed research network AARNET at some point in the near future. AARNET already operates connections to the United States, Singapore and Europe. So the implications for NZ research institutions are obvious considering the constraints of the existing commercial service.

NZ will be hosting the 2008 APAN event 4-8 August, regarded as the leading Asia-Pacific symposium on advanced broadband networking and applications for research and education. The conference is to be hosted in beautiful Queenstown – themes include sustainability, earth science, medical & agricultural applications, high definition TV and seminars on network security. The event will be preceded by the High Performance Research Symposium looking at e-research projects and tool sets, being sponsored by Bluefern, the University of Canterbury supercomputing centre.

Contributed by our NZ correspondent at ion@genius.net.nz

Cost benefit analysis for US alliance…

 

 

 

by Bogong (our resident political analyst*)

 

It is a well known fact in the new Canberra bureaucracy that Treasury Secretary Ken Henry and his colleagues are entitled to a cost benefit analysis on every part of government policy and expenditure. Well here’s Bogong’s suggestion – ask for an evaluation of the US alliance.

 

Australia’s foreign policy has been built in the shadow of US expectations, and it’s not clear that we have come out ahead. In Bogong’s experience the main advantages fall into that category which the Defence and Intelligence set define as “trust us – it’s there – but it is so secret that we just can’t tell you”.

 

So what about having Treasury do an ex post facto analysis of these advantages including the intelligence sharing arrangements, to see if those claims can be backed up? To many in the Industry Department, the capacity to use Government procurement preferences to help Australian companies get established has now been lost under the Australia US Free Trade Agreement.

 

The facts are that former PM Howard made a commitment to have it signed before the 2004 election, and with that ‘helpful’ handicap our team went to Washington to show they weren’t going to be pushed around, because as one DFAT official told Bogong at the time, we had “depth and sophistication on our side”. 

 

The outcome is best summed up by Deputy PM Mark Vaile telling media on his departure for Washington that there was no way he would agree to the so called Mickey Mouse amendment – in plain English, agree to change Australian law to extend the life of copyright from 50 to 70 years after the death of the creator. In the discussions on the relevant Chapter in the Agreement dealing with Intellectual Property, our team was led by a competent middle level official from DFAT. But the US side was led by the US Trade Representative himself, a man whose political career had been built in California with decades of support from Hollywood and the music industry. End of story.

 

The ANZUS Treaty may have served a purpose in years gone by, but not now.  If we could truly rely on US protection we would not be spending billions on new weaponry – the bulk of it from the US. And hasn’t the threat assessment changed? Who are our enemies? What has been the cost to NZ of taking a more independent path in foreign policy? Missing out on a presence in Iraq doesn’t seem like such a big loss.

 

And if we took a step back what would the US do? It would not harm the US multinationals that do business here, nor US buyers of Australian resources. The world has move on and it is time for us to move on too.

 

So when Rudd was in Washington to catch up with George W. let’s hope he asked a few hard questions and not, as the accompanying media have suggested, begin with a defensive explanation of why we are pulling out of Iraq and whether or not China is our new best friend. (*Bogong has no financial or legal relationship to the Editor.)

Collaborator Profile – Paul Frater (NZ)

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Who and where are you?

Paul Frater, Director, Enterprise & Innovation, NZ Trade & Enterprise, Wellington. 

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What’s your job

Responsible for the identification of mature NZ R&D (private & public resourced), triaging it for its possibility to be built into a technology platform for NZ industry under a Technology Innovation Partnership Programme (TIPP).  For priority projects, TIPP will undertake a range of initiatives including assistance with enterprise formation, feasibility and scoping studies, Technology Road Maps and market-catalysing demonstration projects.  The aim is to build innovation systems around the technology and help the core NZ firms become members of the innovation leadership group of key global value chains.  

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What’s exciting you at present?

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3 key projects are in an advanced stage of partnership engagement, and entering full scale production activities over the course of 2008:

 

1. High Temperature Superconductivity (HTS). A series of technologies are being built upon this NZ-developed IP, which is now integrated with technology developed under research programs resourced by the US Dept of Energy: equipment using high strength magnetic fields (e.g. NMR); HTS cables; cryo-cooling; specialist components incl. current leads & stable power supply systems.  

2. JAIN SLEE Industry Forum (JSIF). JAIN SLEE is a telco middleware that integrates the management of telecom network traffic from different technologies (e.g. mobile, internet, fibre, copper etc) and executes the inter-company call administration, billing and reconciliation. The core company is Open Cloud (Cambridge UK, Madrid & Wellington bases).  JSIF has been assisting other NZ ICT firms to exploit this market leadership to build their own international applications businesses. The software handles high volumes of simultaneous activity on a fault tolerant/high reliability basis. Open Cloud has activities in Europe, North & Latin America, Asia and Oceania.  

3. Titanium Alloy (Titap) Powder Metals. This is a new, low cost, environmentally friendly powder metal technology, which avoids the difficulties of handling the pure metal form of Titanium (explosive in certain situations). The alloy powder process is able to produce the strongest form of Titap alloys, the gamma phase. This technology opens many new market segments for a wide range of engineering firms, including bio-medical, coatings and specialist product forming. The opportunity is being taken by NZ firms to introduce a range of new powder metal consolidation technologies into their businesses, expanding their production capabilities & capacities. 

 

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Three new technologies have entered into the process, but as yet are not at the same level of maturity: 

§ 2nd &  3rd generation bio fuels, including algae-based & industrial gas exhaust streams.

§ integrated sensor technology systems, including environmental sensing. 

§ nano-pore technology, with in-service aperture adjustment.  

 

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What collaborative projects do you have to interest Cockatoo readers

 

The TIPP program is based on the establishment of trust relationships and the building of partnerships.  International partnerships are a key element to the program, and strong links have been established with technology partners in Europe, the US & Asia.  The 3 key projects are now in a position to explore a new level of international collaboration, and are well placed to make a significant innovation contribution to a number of international industries. 

 

paul.frater@nzte.govt.nz