In a past era, government procurement was a major lever for industry development and innovation - one thinks back to offset programmes, and commitments required under industry licensing schemes. The world has moved on. What might be the role of government procurement in industry development today? And what might we learn from the experience of schemes in other countries? The Canberra roundtable began with a presentation by David Connell. David was the Chief Executive of TTP Ventures, a Cambridge based venture capital fund specialising in early stage science and technology based ventures. He is also associated with the Centre for Business Research at the University of Cambridge. In the UK David has been campaigning for the introduction of a US style Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) programme and his recent report on this subject has had a major influence on UK policy thinking. The authoritative report on Innovation in the UK by Lord Sainsbury[i], which was released just weeks after this Canberra forum, strongly recommended the adoption of such a scheme. David Connell's presentation was followed by panel discussion around a variety of Australian perspectives on procurement policy. © 2011 eContent Management.
