This plan will hopefully see Australia's universities and businesses partner together to release the untapped potential of Australian research.

Research is critical to economic growth and productivity. Australia’s research system is world class, with 85 per cent of Australian research rated at or above world standard. Australian universities have established their reputation for research excellence and many institutions have placed a priority on engagement and translation.

Despite these efforts, while Australia produces world-leading foundational research, we currently underperform in achieving commercialisation outcomes. This limits the economic impact of our universities and shrinks the return on investment from publicly funded research. Too often, research that could be used to benefit our economy and communities is not taken through to innovations which can create new products and services, create jobs and lift productivity in businesses. In addition, most incentives for universities place greater emphasis on the number of research publications and citations over research outputs and commercialisation.

Local commercialisation success stories, as well as international examples, have demonstrated that prioritised investment and the right policy mechanisms produce strong results. To capitalise on the potential of our research, this plan aims to drive reforms in 4 key areas:

1. Put national priorities at the core of Australian Government funded research.
2. Invest in two new priority-driven schemes to ramp up commercialisation activity.
3. Reform existing university research funding to strengthen incentives for genuine collaboration with industry.
4. Build a bedrock of key people across the sector who are skilled in university–industry collaboration.