In 2021, the Australian government commissioned the Nous Group to evaluate the impact of the Business Research and Innovation Initiative (BRII).

The evaluation found that BRII has achieved its goals, by:

• fostering innovation among small and medium businesses
• helping Australian government agencies solve difficult policy and service delivery problems.

BRII also produced economic benefits, with early findings from the program’s first round indicating a $1.64 return for every dollar of government investment. This is comparable to similar international programs.

The evaluation recommends the Australian government scale up BRII to increase its reach and impact. It also makes 11 specific recommendations to improve the program.