Connect Share & Learn Session 2: The Role of Government in Fostering Innovation
A FrontierSI Partner-only roundtable series providing partners opportunity to network and learn
Date: Wednesday March 2, 2022
Time: 12.30-2pm (AEDT)
Session Objectives
- Explore mechanisms that can assist government to innovate to build services and capacity
- Unpack some of the challenges for government to engage with industry
- Explore mechanisms to enable better collaboration with government agencies i.e. what works?
- Identifying counterproductive factors to innovation in government
View the Recording
The recording of this session is available here.
Session Outline
| 12.30PM AEDT | Acknowledgment to Country & Welcoming Remarks
Graeme Kernich, CEO FrontierSI |
| 12.35PM AEDT | Invited Speaker Presentations
|
| 1.15PM AEDT | Panel Session moderated by Dr Gillian Sparkes, Victorian Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability; Chair Frontier SI
Panellists: Maree Wilson, Chris Hewett, Clare Russell, Paul Seaton |
| 1.55PM AEDT | Session Online Feedback |
| 2.00PM AEDT | Session Wrap Up – Graeme Kernich |
Panel Moderator
Dr Gillian Sparkes is Victoria’s Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability (CES), a Non Executive Chair and Director across the government and NFP sectors. An experienced leader in complex stakeholder environments across multiple sectors, risks and settings through executive and non executive roles, Gillian has been appointed as CES – an independent statutory role that reports and advises the Victorian Government on the environment – by both sides of government.
Initially an industrial chemist, completing a PhD in colloid and surface chemistry (mining related) and advancing to the role of environmental services superintendent during 17 years with BHP Steel followed by four years as a Branch Manager for a waste management company, Gillian’s career spanned three decades across technical, operations management and commercial roles in the manufacturing, industrial services, waste management and water industries, before taking senior public sector roles with the Commonwealth and Victorian governments.
As CES since 2014, Gillian has successfully adopted collaborative and co-design methods, systems thinking, international frameworks including the UN SDGs and UN SEEA and is advancing the application of earth observation and spatial analysis, to achieve impact from the Commissioner’s science reporting and engagement programs. As a result, Victoria now has more independent reporting on the health of the environment by the CES, with eight new statutory functions legislated since 2015 – for the first time since the role was established in 2003. Thirty of 31 recommendations from the 2018 statutory reports were accepted (in full, part or principle) by the Victorian Government – refer @ces.vic.gov.au.
Gillian holds a PhD (App Sci), an MBA, is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a National and Victorian Fellow of the Institute of Public Administration Australia (IPAA). Gillian was recognized as one of Victoria’s Top 50 Public Sector Women in 2020 and appointed as a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia (General Division) in the Queen’s Birthday 2021 Honours “for significant services to environmental sustainability, and to public administration”.
Speakers & Panellists
Chris Hewett is responsible for the Agency’s policy development and coordination, industry growth facilitation, and the teams supporting the operations of the Agency. Chris leads the development of advice to achieve the vision in the Australian Civil Space Strategy, including how to grow Australian industry through investment and workforce development. Chris and his team engage across government and international counterparts on space matters and development opportunities.
Chris has previously held Senior Executive Service roles at the Department of Defence and the Department of Finance. Chris’ career in government began in national security, where he built and lead teams that designed, delivered and used space technologies for 15 years. Chris enjoys working with partners, both in industry and government, and has extensive international experience from both before and after joining government. His education includes masters degrees in strategic policy and space operations, and an honours degree in ancient history from the University of Sydney.
Maree Wilson is the Branch Head of National Earth and Marine Observations at Geoscience Australia (GA). In this role, Maree leads GA’s Digital Earth Australia program as well as the marine and Antarctic geoscience teams.
Prior to her appointment in November 2020, Maree held the position of Executive Director, Foundation at the Australian Geospatial-Intelligence Organisation (AGO), based in Bendigo.
Following a career in the Royal Australian Navy, Maree studied a degree in Technology, majoring in Geographic Information Systems, at the University of Southern Queensland. After graduating, she commenced in Defence as an Intelligence Analyst. In 2008 Maree moved to Esri Australia and worked as a Senior Consultant, primarily with Defence.
In 2011 Maree returned to a government role in GA to lead the Defence Mapping Program. The Program was ceased in 2013 and Maree held a number of different roles in GA including managing a LiDAR program to capture 70,000sqkm of the Murray-Darling Basin floodplains and the reinvigoration of the Australian National Mapping Program.
Upon re-joining Defence in 2016, Maree held a number of Director roles leading teams of imagery and spatial professionals.
Maree is a member of the Surveying and Spatial Sciences Institute and regularly presents at regional, national and international conferences. In her spare time she plays trombone in a local brass band and enjoys competing in Masters softball. A leader in the higher education sector, Clare is a partnership broker and collaboration expert focused on connecting the right people, partners, strategies with researchers to create impact. With over 15 years’ experience brokering national collaborations and partnerships, Clare leads a team of experts at RMIT focusing on research partnerships and translation activity.
While driving strategic university-industry engagement collaboration, Clare is also passionate about supporting researchers and the next generation of problem solvers to embrace an entrepreneurial mindset. Through her knowledge of the innovation ecosystem and expansive network, Clare connects with Australian companies of all sizes with the right support to grow their businesses and provide solutions for their end users.
Paul Seaton is Director – Hydrography and Coastal Resilience – at Fugro (Asia Pacific). With significant success growing and pivoting businesses to meet new and evolving customer needs, Paul knows how important innovation, both product/service and organisational, is to competitive advantage.
Paul has been instrumental in repositioning world leading geodata specialist Fugro as the leading provider of sustainable development and energy transition solutions. He has led a full program of strategic and operational change to fuel growth in new segments, driving technology innovation to deliver customer aligned, sophisticated product and service offerings to market, and organisational restructuring, streamlining and capability building to drive profitable growth. This is all underpinned by an early career in government negotiating high profile trade deals in the Asia Pacific and Middle East in diplomatic and commercial roles.
Clare Russell is Director of Research Partnerships and Initiatives at RMIT University. A leader in the higher education sector, Clare is a partnership broker and collaboration expert focused on connecting the right people, partners, strategies with researchers to create impact. With over 15 years’ experience brokering national collaborations and partnerships, Clare leads a team of experts at RMIT focusing on research partnerships and translation activity.
While driving strategic university-industry engagement collaboration, Clare is also passionate about supporting researchers and the next generation of problem solvers to embrace an entrepreneurial mindset. Through her knowledge of the innovation ecosystem and expansive network, Clare connects with Australian companies of all sizes with the right support to grow their businesses and provide solutions for their end users.
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To learn more about FrontierSI’s ‘Connect, Share & Learn’ Partner-only workshops, or to become involved, contact FrontierSI’s Head of Partner Engagement, Paul Fievez, at pfievez@frontiersi.com.au