Rasmussen, Bruce ORCID: 0000-0001-5779-0339 (2004) The Biomedical Sectors in Australia and Canada: Comparative Policy Analysis. Working Paper. Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia.

Abstract

As countries, Canada and Australia have much in common. There is a shared heritage as new world British colonies and accordingly a similar culture, governmental institutions, living conditions, health and educational standards. Australia is somewhat smaller than Canada- its population of about 20m is 61% of Canada's. Both have high living standards although Canada's GDP per capita is marginally higher than Australia's. The countries also share many aspirations. One is to retain their technological edge, as innovative societies, through the commercialisation of their science base. Little could illustrate this better than the release, within the space of a few months, of innovation strategies designed to enhance the innovation process in each country. In Australia's case, its plan was set out in Backing Australia's Ability (DEST 2001), which followed a number of related reports and white papers, and for Canada, the more substantial document Achieving Excellence (Government of Canada 2001). This provided not only a detailed analysis and assessment of Canada's innovation performance, but also identified quantifiable targets to guide future action by government and industry. Both documents focussed on similar things, strengthening R&D, accelerating its commercial application and developing and retaining skills. They also emphasised the importance of broader supportive and competitive economic settings. In both cases, the governments' policy initiatives were accompanied by substantial increases in government funding for R&D and associated support programs.

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