Innovation: Advisor & Facilitator

Active facilitation and development of innovation is a corner stone of the Coutts Communication expertise. This is achieved by providing expertise as an advisor to governments and organisations that are engaged in developing and operating innovation hotbeds, be it incubators, research institutes, centers of excellence such as CRC’s or university post graduate programs.

Expertise to the innovation community is provided on the commercial perspectives and opportunities of projects in hand, on the mechanism’s and strategies for working with and within governments, on policy development and directions, R&D directions, and most importantly that of facilitation and leading their development from a concept to a reality.

As Professor Emeritus of Telecommunications, Reg Coutts provides extended services to the Australia postgraduate network in leading students and innovators in the development of technologically advanced products and services. Coutts Communications is an active participant in and supporter of the Entrepreneurship, Commercialisation and Innovation Centre
www.ecic.adelaide.edu.au.

Prof Reg Coutts supports the University of Adelaide with the ongoing supervision and guidance of post graduate students.

Innovation Award

Update The TSA has been integrated into the ACS as the ACS-TSA and the Innovation Award is not being offered until 2010.

Case Study 8 Red Button Technologies Seeks Funding
Case: Coutts Communications formed a new venture in 2006 called Red Button Technologies www.redbuttontechnologies.com.au which is now seeking!
Role: Reg is the inventor behind the venture.
Outcome: Watch this space!

Case Study 7 Assessment of SODAR technique
Case: A SODAR technique to measure near earth wind speeds has been developed which needed to be assessed for theoretical validity.
Role: To assemble an appropriate university team to assess the technique.
Outcome: The technique seems viable and a brief paper was given in the public domain (Ref 115).

Case Study 6 CRC Bid
Case: CRC Bid in Rural Telecommunications by Desert Knowledge CRC to investigate the potential to exploit the developments in wireless network technologies such as mesh networks for low cost rural telecommunications.
Role: To find commercial partners such as ICT suppliers and service providers to support the proposed CRC program.
Outcome: The bid did not proceed because the industry was distracted amongst other things by the immediate prospect of large Government subsidy for rural expansion.

Case Study 5 South Australian Government 2004
Task: To undertake a feasibility study on the development of an ICT cluster based on a strong collaborative research sector.
Outcome: Ongoing assessment by the Government in how to support the local ICT industry.

Case Study 4 ATcrc CRC Rebid (Telcore) 2004
Task: To support the Bid Support team to engage industry partners particularly in South Australia to build a new more commercially oriented CRC in telecommunications.
Outcome: The CRC bid was unsuccessful but Telcore is building a new research team.

Case Study 3 A Wireless Incubator - m.Net 2001
Task: To support the bid team of collaborative partners of universities and industry to establish a high speed wireless incubator in South Australia under the Advanced Networks Program of the Australian Government.
Outcome: The new entity m.Net (www.mnetcorporation.com) was funded and refunded in 2004) and has helped grow a number of new business opportunities. Professor Coutts was on
the initial Board of Directors.

Case Study 2 Smart Internet CRC 2001
Task: To lead the inclusion of ICT researchers at the University of Adelaide to part of a new Cooperative Research Centre in the future of Internet.
Outcome: The CRC bid was successful and Professor Coutts contributed to both the CRC management as a Director of the Interim Board as well as to the research program.

Case Study 1 Technology Commercialisation 1999
Task: To lead the establishment at the University of Adelaide of a postgraduate program (the “MSTC program”) jointly with the University of Texas.
Outcome: A pilot was established in 1999, the full Masters in 2000 leading to the establishment of the Education Centre for Innovation and Commercialisation (www.ecic.adelaide.edu.au) in 2002 where Professor Coutts supervises students in technology commercialisation.