Ralph Owen Slatyer 1929–2012

Ralph Slatyer (16 April 1929–26 July 2012) had a distinguished career in the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation and the Australian National University, in plant-water relations and plant succession, leading the development of physiological plant ecology. He was the founding Professor of Environmental Biology at the Research School of Biological Sciences, at the Australian National University and then Director of the Research School of Biological Sciences, 1984–9. He was Australian Ambassador to United Nations Educational and Scientific Cultural Organisation (1978–81), and as Australia’s first Chief Scientist (1989–92), he set up the Cooperative Research Centres.

When Triple Helix Unravels

Cooperative research centres (CRCs) increasingly foster Triple Helix (industry–university–government) collaboration and represent significant vehicles for cooperation across sectors, the promotion of knowledge and technology transfer and ultimately the acceleration of innovation. A growing social science literature on CRCs focuses on their management and best practices, mainly through success stories and rarely by describing and analysing CRC failures. The literature on CRCs can benefit by learning from failures, as has been seen in other areas of social science. Here the authors present four mini-cases of CRC failures – centres that were successfully launched but later declined and closed – and, in contrast, one mini-case of a success story. The analysis identifies: (a) likely contributing factors in the failures, mainly environmental influences and mismanagement of centre transitions; (b) themes in the failures, notably a tendency for problems in one area to magnify the impact of problems in other areas; and (c) learning points for CRCs concerning leadership and succession. The implications for Triple Helix organizations are discussed.

Cooperative Research Centres as effective institutions for contemporary models for achieving innovation in primary industry

The creation of a formal organisational structure that brings together the specific needs of particular industries, with the expertise and research capacity available through recognised research providers, has an underlying and undeniable logic. Cooperative Research Centres (CRCs) provide this formal structure and are generally strongly focussed on carrying out applied outcome-driven research to improve productivity through innovation. Despite this strong commercial focus and record of scientific-output CRCs, there is general recognition that adoption of research from CRCs can be improved. The present paper focuses on primary industry CRCs and discusses the applicability of contemporary innovation concepts, which have evolved through the process of industrialisation and socialisation of science, and their application for improving innovation within primary industry CRCs. Specifically considered are 4th and 5th generation innovation concepts that promote ideas within ‘Open Innovation’ and ‘Knowledge Creation’ as a means of improving innovation within the primary industry CRCs organisational structure.