Triple Helix and Regional Innovation Systems: Knowledge Transfer in New South Wales

Abstract

<p>Imagine you could benchmark collaboration in research publications, spatially and over time, by research area, between university, industry, and government, look at international and domestic, inter- and intra-state" measure it relative to regional economic activity. In effect, measures knowledge spillovers and connections.</p> <p>Measurement is essential for assessment of performance. Without measurements using a repeatable tool there is no ability to monitor change. The application of the triple helix to measuring university-industry-government collaboration allows assessment of performance in the research sector. Furthermore, with the integration of research partner (or individual organisation) locations, any relationship with the local economy can be identified</p> <p>This research was developed with a comprehensive, transparent, and repeatable methodology, drawing on over 30 years of existing research knowledge in bibliometric and scientometric analysis and using an even older mathematical formula. Patterns and trends of increasing (or decreasing) collaboration can be identified by examining university, industry, and government collaboration measured through author affiliations.</p> <p>The novelty is the application to New South Wales, Australia and the accessibility of the code to perform the analysis. Using common coding tools such as R and data from the Web of Science ensures accessibility. The results for all research areas show changes in government, that the publication increase as reporting periods approach, and that there has been an overall trend of declining collaboration. However, agricultural-related research has bucked the trend. Although the collaboration is of a lower magnitude, the trend since 2015 has been an increase in collaboration.</p> <p>Ultimately, there are policy implications for organisations looking for research partners and opportunities.</p> <p>Understanding how the triple helix of university–industry–government translates to existing and future industry-level behaviours and trends will enable the emergence of stronger, more resilient industries and economies. As regional economies change, the historical drivers of economic growth in regional Australia are shifting from agriculture, fishing, forestry, and extractive industries to knowledge-based industries. The triple helix and industry specialisation combination has rarely been applied to an Australian agri-food and agricultural context where research organisations can operate in spatially large ecosystems, sometimes away from highly specialised areas.</p> <p>Applications of the triple helix in Australia have focused on metropolitan and capital cities as opposed to regional areas. Understanding where concentrations of both research and industry are located will inform decisions on possible locations where any competitive advantage exists due to specialisation.</p> <p>New South Wales exhibits different behaviours for different research sectors, demonstrated by differences between all research fields and seven agriculture-related areas. Whilst all fields of research exhibited decreasing collaborations, agriculture-related countered this with increasing collaboration. </p> <p>These measurements allow targeted policies to enhance collaboration and improve research activities by increasing awareness of the nature and location of collaboration.</p> <p>Intended to improve the transfer of knowledge from research organisations to industry, this research enables specific spatial areas to be targeted for agri-food, agri-business, and general agricultural research areas. Identifying where there are strong research bases and industry specialisation will allow for learning to be shared between different agents. Conversely, identification of weaknesses will allow for structured action (potentially government-led – the third pillar of the triple helix) to be undertaken to build the resilient communities needed. The occurrence of mismatched triple helix and industry specialisation may reflect workforce skills shortages or under-skilling, and thus the need for extension to be undertaken to build these areas can be implemented. Using an industry specialisation metric to reflect theoretical demand, the future engagement of industry will enable improved research outcomes as it matches the needs in the differing regions. Organisations ranging from CRCs to university and research organisation incubators and accelerators will benefit from this increased knowledge and the role they can play in the ecosystem.</p>