Rod GloverEconomic Strategy ConsultantMelbourne, Australia

... reach a high standard in several different directions and must combine talents not often found together

... be a mathematician, historian, statesman, philosopher – in some degree

... understand symbols and speak in words

... contemplate the particular in terms of the general, and touch abstract and concrete in the same flight of thought

... study the present in light of the past for the purposes of the future.

Powering Ideas: Priorities

• Research for challenges and opportunities

• Skilled researchers

• Commercialisation and development

• Knowledge dissemination, particularly SMEs

• Collaboration between research and industry

• International research collaboration

• Policy development and service delivery

Business sophistication

Technological readiness

Infrastructure

Innovation

Market size

Goods market efficiency

Macroeconomic environment

Higher education and training

Institutions

Health and primary education

Labour market efficiency

Financial market development

2007-082010-11

World’s best practice

(1st)

Overall average

(16th)

Better than overall ranking

Worse than overall ranking

Australia’s competitiveness

• The rise of Asia and emerging markets power

• Market-driven, knowledge and service economies

• Internationalisation of challenges, people, ideas

• Older populations and rise of preventable chronic disease

• Shifting social attitudes and identity at multiple levels

• Personalisation of economic/social participation

• Climate change and vulnerability to extremes

• Urbanisation, mobility and connectivity

• Resource productivity and systems thinking

• Technology: ICT, bio, nano, cognitive, social media

• Openness, transparency, collaboration, co-production

• Premium on collaboration, design, behaviour change

A ‘wicked’ world

1 Prompts

2 Proposals

3 Prototypes

4 Sustaining

5 Scaling

6 Systemic change

Need for design thinking – institutions, markets, technology and behaviour

Australian Treasury:Wellbeing

Framework

Beyond GDP

Australian Bureau of Statistics:Measuring Australia’s Progress

Policy mindsets are changing ...

The challenge of developing people’s potential has evolved from a self-

reliance to a capabilities perspective.

Infrastructure, service, resource and innovation systems are evolving from a

markets to a systems perspective.

The goals of policy are evolving as wealthier, educated societies lead move

from a growth to a well-being perspective.

“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.”

(Antoine de Saint-Exupery, author of The Little Prince)

Thank you!