Small business works with Palaszczuk government to grow innovation

A project using 3D technology to display scale models of iconic Queensland buildings is among a new round of Palaszczuk Government-supported digital solutions to real-world problems.

Minister for Innovation, Science and the Digital Economy Leeanne Enoch today (Friday) congratulated participants in the Testing Within Government (TWiG) program, which has produced 11 entrepreneurial-backed projects.

Speaking at an event in Brisbane to showcase the innovations, Ms Enoch said the TWiG program allows small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SME) to improve the positioning of their products by working with the Palaszczuk Government on business problems.

“It’s all part of a $275,000 boost the Palaszczuk Government put on the table in March to help small business collaborate with government on information and communications technology (ICT) solutions,” Ms Enoch said.

“Successful applicants receive $25,000 in funding to test and refine their product – and after 12 weeks, applicants showcase their products and their TWiG program experience.

“With eight government agencies working on 11 unique challenges, the TWiG program is certainly gaining momentum.”

Ms Enoch said the new 3D online project displaying scale models of buildings has been developed by Ditto Labs and SiteSee, working with the Department of Science, Information Technology and Innovation (DSITI).

Ditto Labs Director Christie Tamas said the TWiG program allowed her company to engage with government in a way which wouldn't have been possible otherwise.

“The solution which we initially proposed is quite different to the solution we've delivered, and the structure of the program made this possible,” Ms Tamas said.

“Our partners at SiteSee were able to develop improvements to their 3D viewer which they were able to roll out to their existing customers.

“Exposure we've received through the project has led to new work in new industries and with existing customers.”

Ms Enoch said another TWiG project is a collaboration between Queensland Health and Max Kelsen to improve the patient journey by applying machine learning to heath data.

“While the problem-solving aspect of the TWiG program has been a huge success, equally exciting is the potential for ongoing industry collaboration to innovate across other government agencies,” Ms Enoch said.

“Many of the solutions will have potential application in ways probably not even anticipated by the developers themselves. For an SME, this type of collaboration means you can progress your product’s development to a point where it’s ready for release to market.

“For large, corporate end-users such as government, it means an out-of-the-box solution has been tested and refined against a real business problem. A win-win scenario for suppliers and end-users.”

QUT Professor and PwC Chair in Digital Economy Marek Kowalkiewicz said lessons learned from leaders in digital economy show strong collaboration across governments and – most importantly – between government and business, is a catalyst to enabling businesses to grow.

“Departments collaborating closely with business are more agile, open to innovation, and quicker in responding to citizens’ needs. Many organisations we researched indicated to us that collaboration with government helps them in building confidence and further grows their business.”

For more TWiG information, log on to http://advance.qld.gov.au/small-business/twig.aspx.

ENDS

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