“Quicklook” Assessment of Greater Adelaide's Assets & Challenges ...

DEFENSE TEAMING CENTER
Interview Team
• Celeste Yeakley, Team Leader
• Kevin Hudson
• Stephen Long
• Eric Sloan
• Burrjed Stafford
The team’s main interview session was held on Monday the 9 th of July, 2001
Opportunities
Resources:
• Attract and Retain talent by emphasizing ‘niche’ market (lifestyle and low cost of
living)
• Provide overseas opportunities
• Create exciting projects
Government:
• Support by securing market segments exclusively
• Provide a regular flow of work – reduce severe cyclic projects. Provide clear
boundaries for projects and eliminate constant ‘creep to the right’
• Streamline process to obtain capital
Business Processes:
• Implement better management processes
Two Case Studies
1. AUSTEK
2. Aspect
Case Study
DSTO: is science-based culture. Commercialization is doable, but the problem is the
value that the commonwealth puts on the IP (typically is over valued). Value is not
realized unless it is gotten out to market. The IP value is unrealistic so it makes it difficult
to get to market.
• There has been a great deal of attrition from DSTO to go out and independently
commercialize. DSTO loses, but it adds to the dynamics of the state.
• There was a commercial version of DSTO in Adelaide (CSI) and a spin off
company AUSTEK was on the cutting edge of technology. The company rose
quickly and died quickly. Grew at a rate that outstripped the ability to manage
itself and couldn’t get access to world markets to continue to sustain itself –
market was saturated very quickly.
• Getting things to a world market, Adelaide is not seen as being a leader in
technology. No one is going to take us seriously until we have a strong base in
North America or Europe.
Sources of help:
• There was another program called START, they would pay matching dollars to
get a new project on the market. You had to get to market in 10 years. High
technology start-up grant.
• Ausindustry.gov.au – a website that summarizes all the government programs.
Get invented during election time – very hard to get the money because the
projects tend to be very narrowly defined. Typically you have to have a lot of
paperwork (business case, business plan, marketing plan, etc.). They require
massive amounts of paperwork and it is very difficult.
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