Infrastructure
Over the past six years the Queensland Government has invested heavily in innovation infrastructure. Queensland is now home to some of the most sophisticated research facilities in the world, using leading-edge technology to generate world-beating research. The right infrastructure has been, and continues to be, a necessary ingredient of our leadership in innovation.
The Queensland Government will:
- establish the Innovation Building Fund with $128 million over four years to stimulate research, development, commercialisation and technology diffusion. This major infrastructure program will establish pioneering research and innovation institutes, facilities, and centres of excellence in Queensland. It will also fund major items of research equipment.
- By building on the successes of the Smart State Research Facilities Fund, the Innovation Building Fund will complement established research institutes, further strengthening Queensland’s position as a global centre for innovation. Some recent investments by the Queensland Government in world-leading facilities include the:
- University of Queensland’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience
- Queensland University of Technology’s Institute for Health and Biomedical Innovation
- Queensland Brain Institute at the University of Queensland
- Griffith University’s Eskitis Institute for Cellular and Molecular Therapies
- University of Queensland’s Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology
- Griffith University’s Institute for Glycomics
- Centre of Excellence in Engineered Fibre Composites at the University of Southern Queensland
- Queensland University of Technology’s Creative Industries Precinct.
- increase the funding available under the current and final round of the Smart State Research Facilities Fund by $20 million. This will bring the value of Round Four to almost $40 million, increasing the total committed under the Fund since it was launched in 2001 to $170 million. The Smart State Research Facilities Fund has helped to establish research facilities – such as the Centre for Advanced Animal Science, the Australian Tropical Forest Institute and at the Mater Medical Research Institute – to:
- stimulate research and development activity in Queensland
- provide access to unique and leading research facilities for Queensland industries and
- extend Queensland’s advantage in existing industry and build on competitiveness in knowledge intensive industries.
- The Queensland Government’s $130 million commitment over Rounds One, Two and Three has resulted in an additional $243 million investment in Queensland infrastructure from the Federal Government, private donors and other sources. Successful Round Four applicants will be announced in June 2005.
- establish the Ecosciences Precinct by redeveloping the former Boggo Road Gaol site as an integrated knowledge precinct focusing on ecosystems science. The site will be transformed into a mixed-use urban village comprising residential, retail, commercial and research facilities, bringing together a vital mix of people including researchers, commercialisation experts and entrepreneurs from several research organisations. The main participating Queensland Government agencies will be the Department of Natural Resources and Mines, Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, and the Environmental Protection Agency. The Queensland Government is also discussing with CSIRO and several universities their potential participation in the Precinct. The Precinct provides an opportunity to combine the research skills of government agencies with the potential co-location of over 1000 staff.
- develop a Health and Food Sciences Precinct at Coopers Plains by co-locating and integrating the research capabilities of several research organisations. The Precinct will become a centre of excellence in health and food sciences and will focus on how Queenslanders can live longer, healthier and more fulfilling lives through advances in health-care, medicine, food and nutrition. Scientists from the Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries will join researchers from Queensland Health to create a vibrant knowledge centre for health and food. Discussions are in progress with organisations such as CSIRO to join Queensland Government researchers at the Health and Food Sciences Precinct. Researchers will be developing novel and healthy foods, to improve food safety and diet and find better ways to process food which preserve flavour and eating qualities.
- support the development of a facility to manufacture pharmaceuticals to international regulatory standards for use in preclinical and clinical trials. The facility will strengthen Queensland’s position as an internationally focused Asia-Pacific hub for biotechnology by filling a gap in the market in scale-up manufacturing capacity in Australia. This gap has seen the loss of tens of millions of dollars to off-shore manufacturing of small-scale drug and therapeutic compounds. The new facility will build on Queensland’s biotechnology, pharmaceutical and clinical trials capabilities by:
- helping Queensland retain a share of the investment currently being lost to off-shore competitors
- assisting the Queensland biotechnology industry to hold onto its intellectual property longer to add greater value
- opening export market opportunities and provide an excellent base for training Australian and overseas personnel in a wide range of testing and manufacturing procedures.
The Queensland Government will invite applications for the Innovation Building Fund annually. Applicants will need additional investment from other sources, and will be assessed against strategic priorities.