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- Industry growth centres
- Industry Innovation and Science Australia
- National Measurement Institute
- Optical astronomy in Australia
- Participating in the digital economy
- Promoting innovation precincts
- Science in our department
- Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)
Energy
Resources
Northern Australia
Trade
Business support
Measurement services
Government to government services
- Regulations and standards
Emissions reduction
Energy
Resources
- Applying to export rough diamonds
- Applying to export uranium and controlled ores
- Offshore mineral exploration and mining
- Offshore oil and gas exploration and development
- Offshore petroleum exploration acreage release process
- Regulating offshore oil and gas in Australian Commonwealth waters
- Regulating the Ranger Uranium Mine
- Taxes and royalties on minerals and petroleum
Measurement
Trade
Space industry
Building industry
Business support
- Funding and incentives
Emissions reduction
Industry innovation and science
- Australian Square Kilometre Array Fellowships Programme
- Business Research and Innovation Initiative
- Business-research collaboration
- Collaborating with Asia-Pacific on science, research and innovation
- Collaborating with China on science and research
- Collaborating with India on science and research
- Cooperative research centres
- Enabling international space investment
- Industry 4.0
- Inspiring Australia: Science engagement in Australia
- International research collaboration
- Moon to Mars: opportunities for Australian businesses
- Prime Minister's Prizes for Science
- Research and Development Tax Incentive
- Supporting advanced manufacturing
- Supporting business and innovation
- Supporting space infrastructure growth
- Transitioning Australia’s automotive manufacturing industry
- Venture capital
Resources
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COVID-19
Jobs
Who we are
- Our Ministers
- Our Executive team
- Organisation chart
- Our portfolio agencies
- Overseas engagement
- Anti-Dumping Commission
- Anti-Dumping Review Panel
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- Australian SKA Office
- Australian Space Agency
- Critical Minerals Facilitation Office
- National Measurement Institute
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- A guide to undertaking international collaboration
On this page
A guide to undertaking international collaboration
We offer a range of funding and incentive programs to encourage collaboration on science.
If you’re thinking about establishing an international collaboration with our support, this advice can help you plan and manage for success.
Overseas Counsellors Network support for international collaboration
Our Overseas Counsellors Network engages with industry and research institutions to:
- encourage collaboration through Australian Government initiatives
- support Australian industry to innovate and expand in key growth sectors overseas
We have counsellors in:
- Beijing
- Brussels
- New Delhi
- Tokyo
- Washington DC
Learn more about how to contact our counsellors and our engagement overseas.
Planning and negotiating a collaboration
Before you initiate an international collaboration, consider why you want an international partner. What will drive your collaboration? What are your goals?
Once you’ve determined these, identify your collaboration partners including any finance or funding bodies. Consider what each might contribute to the collaboration.
Learn as much as you can about your potential partner organisation and their country. Your aims and priorities should align with your partner’s. You may need to consider differences in:
- ethical norms
- political influence or interference
- academic freedom
- censorship
- policy and strategy agendas
Set up a strong dialogue with your potential partner early to avoid future issues.
Establishing the partnership
Once you’ve decided to partner, establish your roles and determine what rights and responsibilities each partner will have. Discuss how you will share finance and resources.
Make sure you understand and can navigate your partner’s organisational structure. Try to be aware of any internal agendas or politics and decide how you will work with these.
You should:
- outline a clear strategic vision for the collaboration
- determine how long the collaboration will last
- develop and agree on an agenda
- create a strategy to encourage collaboration at all levels of the organisation
Document all your decisions in writing.
Manage intellectual property
Seek advice from your legal advisers and IP authorities before you decide:
- who owns the program’s intellectual property (IP)
- who has commercialisation rights
- how your research outcomes will be disseminated
Learn how your partner organisation manages, protects and shares data, including sensitive data. Their information management should meet the necessary standards. If your organisation has intellectual property policies and procedures, consider how these will apply within the collaboration.
We strongly recommend you:
- formalise IP and commercialisation decisions in a written agreement
- sign non-disclosure agreements with all parties
IP Australia support
You can learn more about international intellectual property and protecting your rights from IP Australia’s guides to understanding IP.
IP Australia’s IP Counsellor to China can provide help to Australian businesses navigating the Chinese intellectual property system.
Contact Australia’s IP Counsellor to China and learn more about protecting IP in China.
Managing the collaboration
- Set evaluation timeframes and milestones to measure progress. We recommend you develop a strategy for continual improvement within the collaboration.
- Plan your recruitment. You might be able to take secure research support through early career research or exchange programs.
- If there are likely to be language or cultural differences, or if your partner’s administration standards are greatly different, consider how you will deal with these. We suggest you train and support staff to work with international partners.
Mitigating risk
It’s important to take steps to mitigate the potential risks of international collaboration. You should always prioritise Australia’s competitive position and national security interests.
- Check all parties involved, including financiers, are reputable.
- Identify potential conflicts of interest.
- Plan to prevent leaks or the abuse of contact networks.
- Make staff aware of the risks and vulnerabilities of collaboration.
- Have a plan to manage any misconduct.
- Consider whether the collaboration might affect other multilateral relationships.
- Consider how you might make the program financially sustainable. Long-term dependence on international funding increases vulnerability.
Security resources
Espionage is an international issue. We recommend you take steps to address the risk of overseas governments taking advantage of a collaboration to recruit or exploit students or researchers.
The Australian Government provides a range of security support.
Access the most current security intelligence and protective security advice from the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation’s Business and Government Liaison Unit.
Learn about opportunities to work with the Department of Defence and access Defence security services through the Defence Industry Security Program.
See more about cyber scams and threats and get guidance on best practice for mitigating risk from the Australian Cyber Security Centre.
Read more
- The Australian Government has released advice to help build resilience to some of the potential risks of international collaborations, Guidelines to counter foreign interference in the Australian university sector.
- Learn more about international research, science and innovation partnership opportunities.
Contact us
Email us at International.Science@industry.gov.au
See also
- Learn more about the Australian Government's approach to increasing Australia's international innovation and science connections, the Global Innovation Strategy
- Read about our long-term approach to achieving a strong science system in Australia’s National Science Statement
- See if you’re eligible for Global Innovation Linkages funding on business.gov.au
Last updated: 8 December 2020
Content ID: 66072