Robert Hickson • Sep 16, 2017 •
In our own cultural memory New Zealand used to have the best farming system in the world. No more, according to some. Two recent articles about the Netherlands illustrate how we are falling behind in some ways, and can provide a stimulus for how we can do better. National Geographic highlights the Netherland’s sustainable agricultural system in … Read More
Guest Work • Jul 13, 2017 •
by Professor Sally Davenport Many of us in the innovation system have been hearing this ‘additionality’ word a lot recently. For some it’s an odd term they have never heard before and, relative to many words, it is a youngster. It apparently first surfaced in the 1950s as a concept in economics. Sally Davenport The Oxford Dictionary defines … Read More
Peter Kerr • Jan 10, 2017 •
It’s that time of year when we fly kites, give voice to possibilities. So, given we have a new Science and Innovation minister, namely Paul Goldsmith, how about exploring whether now is a good time to put seriously explore forming a Science and Innovation Council. New Science and Innovation Minister Paul Goldsmith should look at the advantages of forming a … Read More
John Kerr • Nov 30, 2016 •
A ‘big picture’ report on the New Zealand science system shows Kiwis are pretty good at publishing top-notch research and collaborating with scientists overseas, but there is room for improvement on our business R&D spending. The 2016 Science and Innovation System Performance Report was released yesterday by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE). The report aims to give policy-makers, academics and … Read More
Peter Kerr • Oct 27, 2016 •
Perhaps Greg Shanahan and his TIN100 team and reports are deserving of an NZ Inc ex gratia payment – because arguably they’ve been most responsible for bringing hi tech out of the closet, making it cool(er)*. Of course we can never tell what would’ve happened without this report coming into being 12 years ago, but purely as an ‘aspirational … Read More
Robert Hickson • Oct 12, 2016 •
A US meat company is now an investor in vegan burgers, and selling them alongside meat patties. That’s just one of the signals pointing to big changes in food production systems in affluent nations. Lab-grown meat gets the headlines, but burgers made from plant proteins are well ahead of that, and likely to have a much lower yuck … Read More
Robert Hickson • Sep 26, 2016 •
The Economist magazine and EY (the consultancy firm formerly known as Ernst & Young) have been producing a range of videos recently about industries facing significant change. This one about alternative energy is well worth a look (15 minutes of your time). The two key points I took away from it are: “Big oil” is far from … Read More
Victoria Metcalf • Aug 10, 2016 •
The assignment from Te Punaha Matatini – to think about how we might reframe innovation in the New Zealand context and to use the available data from Figure.NZ to do so – has given me pause to consider some often overlooked and what I believe are pivotal components to creating a brighter future – diversity (in this piece, focussing … Read More
Victoria Metcalf • Aug 08, 2016 •
The assignment from Te Punaha Matatini – to think about how we might reframe innovation in the New Zealand context and to use the available data from Figure.NZ to do so – has given me pause to consider some often overlooked and what I believe are pivotal components to creating a brighter future – diversity (in this piece, focussing … Read More
Peter Griffin • Jul 20, 2016 •
When I visited universities and research institutes in Israel last year I was struck by two things – their entrepreneurial outlook and their eagerness to bring international entrepreneurial research collaborations to fruition. A focus in these areas – enabled by state, private and foreign investment, has paid off for Israel in the form of a research sector that creates a pipeline … Read More