Australia's "piecemeal", "short-term" and "inadequate" approach to university and business collaboration has been blasted in a major report on Australian innovation. 
The report, which compares Australia's innovation performance to those of 14 countries, calls for a more interventionist policy approach focused on long-term, tightly targeted investments. The current system is too reliant on indirect business tax breaks that spray money around without a strategic focus, says the 142-page report by the Australian Council of Learned Academies.
The report, Translating research for economic and social benefit, will be released on Friday.
Chief Scientist Ian Chubb said the findings showed the Turnbull government needed to implement far-reaching changes to industry and higher education policy to make Australia's economy more innovative. "Fiddling at the margins of policy will not secure the economic transformation we need to keep pace, let alone compete in an ambitious world," Professor Chubb said. "Nations which do better than us are characterised by intelligent policies settings and programs which encourage a culture of innovation and collaboration.
The report - which compared Australia to countries such as the US, United Kingdom, Israel and Finland - found Australia was squandering the opportunity to seize the economic benefits of its research discoveries. "The contrast with Australia is stark, and our review shows how our policies and ... programs are piecemeal, opportunistic and almost invariably short-lived," the report said. "Australia's measures to support the translation of public sector research have been found to be inadequate."
The report made 15 recommendations including: introducing programs to facilitate venture capital for start-ups, shifting away from research and development tax incentives to direct grants and developing a long-term innovation strategy that plays to Australia's strengths.