CRCORE
Optimising Resource Extraction
Professor Alan Bye
CEO
Mr David Miles AM
Review Leader
CRC Programme Review
11 November 2014
Dear Mr Miles,
Cooperative Research Centres Programme Review
The CRC for Optimising Resource Extraction (CRC ORE) welcomes the opportunity to provide a submission to the
Austral ian Government's Cooperative Research Centres (CRC) Programme Review.
With the assistance of the CRC Programme, CRC ORE has been supporting innovation and productivity-based
growth in the Australian mining industry since 2010. While there are other programs focused on developing point
solutions and technologies, CRC ORE is the first and only large scale, industry led innovation initiative to tackle
systematic improvement across the entire resource extraction value chain, namely orebody knowledge, mass
mining, blast engineering, mineral processing, spatial modelling and resource economics.
In the case of CRC ORE, the CRC Programme has provided the framework to support large end-users, mining
technology service providers (including SMEs) and research institutions to come together to deliver the
technologies and innovations needed to drive efficiencies across the entire mining value chain in order to ensure
the long term competitiveness of one of the Government's identified pillars of the Austral ian economy.
The medium to long term nature of the CRC framework has enabled Australian SME's to partake in leading edge
research, maximising the opportunities for; development of relationship capital with global customers and
enhanced in-house capability in addition to opportunity to commercialise research outcomes which ultimately
promote industry wide implementation and adoption and enhance export opportunities for the Australian Mining
Equipment Technology and Services (METS) sector.
CRC ORE's foundation term will conclude in June 2015 and is seeking to extend our successful collabo ration for a
further 6 years. CRC ORE is currently under consideration for funding as part of the 17th selection round of the
CRC Programme and anticipates that the Centre will be closely aligned with the objectives of the proposed METS
Industry Growth Centre.
Support for the CRC Programme: A Framework to Address Major Industry Challenges for National Benefit
The CRC Programme is currently the only programme facilitating business-research collaboration at a scale and
over a timeframe that can effectively address major industry challenges. These are challenges that cannot be
addressed by individual organisations alone, and which require a dedicated effort over a medium to long term
timeframe.
Well-targeted investment in the CRC Programme can play a major role in underpinning the future
c ompetitiveness of strategically important industries while promoting new opportunities for Australian businesses
- key objectives of the Australian Government's Industry Innovation and Competitiveness Agenda. There is
also enormous potential for the Programme to be complementary to the announced Industry Growth Centres,
which we understand will provide a focal point for industry collaboration on policy, regulatory and commercial
priorities as well as shorter-term research opportunities.
CRC ORE considers that there is a very strong case for retaining the CRC Programme in its current form. However,
should the Government consider alternative approaches to fostering business-research collaboration, CRC ORE
Page 1
CRCORE
Optimising Resource Extraction
submits that these must retain the CRC Programme's emphasis on: medium-long term timeframes for innovation;
funding at a scale commensurate with the challenges being addressed; an industry-driven approach; and targeted
investment in areas or industries of particular strategic importance to Australia .
We also offer the following comments against the Review's Terms of Reference.
A) Is the CRC Programme the right vehicle for achieving the Government's priorities for applied science and
research? If not, what sort of programme would be more effective?
The CRC Programme provides an excellent framework for promoting collaboration between industry and
researchers that delivers practical, commercially-focused solutions for business while also addressing national
competitiveness challenges. In CRC ORE's experience, the Programme is facilitating many of the Government's
identified priorities for applied science and research. It is delivering:
•
Industry-driven research. The CRC ORE research program is led by its 11 industry partners and
reflects the high priority the mining industry places on improving its productivity performance in the
wake of the resources boom. More than 20 industry partners have signed on to participate in our
proposed second term, with 7 large end-users committing to host on-site studies. The CRC structure
is enabling these companies to work together to address industry-wide challenges and implement
solutions to sustain the impact.
•
Multi-disciplinary collaboration. CRC ORE is approaching the national challenge of resource
depletion and Australia's declining mining productivity from a uniquely holistic, whole-of-business
systems perspective. This requires a collaborative effort that spans the entire mining sector value
chain and requires a range of research expertise, from geology to process metallurgy to business
information systems. Such an approach would be beyond the capacity of individual companies or
industries in the absence of a CRC-type arrangement.
•
SME participation in leading-edge research. The CRC structure is ensuring Australian SMEs
involved in the METS sector can partake in leading-edge research alongside large multi-national endusers. These SME's are also ideally placed to capitalise on opportunities for commercialisation of the
Centre's research outcomes and sustain the impact of the technologies developed.
•
Creating new export opportunities for industry. CRC ORE's research program is creating new
export opportunities for Australian industry. For example, CRC ORE has undertaken 27 site studies
across 8 countries, building opportunities for the transfer of Australian innovations to new markets.
•
International engagement. The quality of CRC ORE's collaborative effort has attracted international
participants to our proposed second term, such as Canada's National Research Centre (Energy Mining
and Environment), Colorado State University and Kellogg School of Management.
•
A research effort at a scale commensurate with the challenges faced by the mining industry.
The scale of the challenge and the complexity of the solutions being developed by CRC ORE require a
medium-long term collaborative research effort. The CRC Programme provides the certainty around
funding and timeframes that is needed to give industry and research participants the confidence to
invest.
B) How can the Government's investment in the CRC Programme better deliver outcomes for industry?
A major challenge for the CRC Programme remains the commercialisation of research outcomes. Large end-users
and research institutions are typically not well-placed to take new innovations to market, and in the mining
industry, it is entrepreneurial METS businesses (including many SMEs) that are in the best position to successfully
develop, validate and commercialise the CRC's research. Some suggested strategies for the CRC programme are:
• Implement strategies to incentivise research entrepreneurship (for individuals and research institutions)
and decrease bureaucracy associated with the licencing of intellectual property from universities
Page 2
CRCORE
Optimising Resource Extraction
C)
•
Recognition of the value of "researchers" within business organisations as opposed to a focus on metrics
associated with conventional academic backgrounds
•
Reduced emphasis on PhD awards as an appropriate outcome of CRC's. In many cases this is not an
effective measure of relevant capacity development for industry.
How can the Government's investment in the CRC Programme further drive more frequent and more
effective collaboration between industry and the research sector?
Whilst the CRC Programme is effective in encouraging industry and the research sector to work together, the
focus of universities largely remains on publishing rather than collaboration and commercial isation. This is
reflective of how universities in Australia are ranked. For example the Excellence in Research Australia (ERA)
indicators do not specifically consider collaboration with industry but rather focus on publishing profile, research
income, research application, and research volume and activity. Little or no weight is given to participating in
CRC's and this may be contributing to Australia's low rankings with respect to business-researcher collaboration
and commercialisation of research outcomes.
D) How could contractual and administrative requirements of the CRC Programme be streamlined?
Overall, CRC ORE considers that the contractual and administrative requirements of the CRC Programme are
appropriate to the scale and nature of the funding provided. The annual reporting requirements are manageable
for a small organisation and we found the 3rd year Performance Review produced useful recommendations for
the Centre.
The mechanics of the CRC Programme application process are resource-intensive and there are opportunities to
streamline this. For example, the Stage 1selection criteria are repetitive. Further, the requirement that all
researchers complete a pro-forma curriculum vitae template could be streamlined to a 2 or 3-page CV with
flexibility in format. The 2-stage selection process reduces the resourcing impact on unsuccessful applicants and
should be retained.
E) Is there sufficient demand within the research sector and industry for a programme that builds
collaborative structures that facilitate end-user driven research?
The establishment of CRC ORE was in response to strong demand from industry for the next wave of technology
advances to drive productivity-based growth in mining. Since 2010 this demand has grown,evidenced by the 40%
increase in industry contributions in CRC ORE's first term and the more than doubling of industry participants in
our proposed second term. This undersco res the value of a medium-long term framework for collaboration,
a llowing CRCs to get 'runs on the board' and attract new investment over a number of years.
We would welcome the opportunity to discuss our submission with the Review tea m. Please contact Ms Lauren
Stafford, CRC ORE Business Manager, at 1.stafford @crco re.org.au should you have any questions or require
further information.
Yours sincerely
Professor Alan Bye
Chief Executive Officer
CRC ORE
Page 3