NSW leads in innovation: report

According to the NSW Innovation and Productivity Council’s 2024 Scorecard, the state’s innovation system shows NSW leads the nation when it comes to harnessing opportunities from new investment, ideas, industries and talent. The scorecard compares NSW against domestic and international jurisdictions using a range of data sources and metrics to highlight opportunities for the state to perform even better.

The report shows that NSW outperforms the rest of the nation in new startup and spinout companies arising from universities and research institutes, and tops Canada, Germany and Japan on venture capital investment as a share of gross state product (GSP) or gross domestic product (GDP).

“Our latest Innovation and Productivity Scorecard is a comprehensive analysis of NSW’s place in the global innovation context and outlines where we can sharpen our focus to achieve long-term success,” said NSW Innovation and Productivity Council Chairman Charlie Taylor. “NSW has a highly educated and skilled workforce underpinned by our world-class universities and researchers.

“We also have a wealth of ambitious startups, supported by strong venture capital, that are developing innovative products and services.”

While NSW beats other Australian states when it comes to economic and productivity growth, the report card finds there is room for NSW to improve productivity growth when it comes to international comparisons.

“The ability to innovate across the economy will be crucial to creating the jobs of the future and tackling our biggest challenges, including rebuilding manufacturing in NSW,” said NSW Minister for Innovation, Science and Technology Anoulack Chanthivong. “The scorecard shows that NSW is a national and global leader but there’s much more to do to ensure government, industry and communities are working together for maximum impact.

“The NSW Innovation and Productivity Scorecard highlights the strengths of our innovation system but also gives us a good indication of where we should be focusing our efforts to capture new opportunities or improve outcomes.”

The scorecard has been released as the NSW Government continues to work on its Innovation Blueprint, which will set a clear framework for the way businesses, universities and government work together.

Click here to view the NSW Innovation and Productivity Council’s 2024 Scorecard Dashboard and accompanying Companion Report.

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