The Council on Competitiveness and Australian Advisory Board on Competitiveness hosted a special U.S.-Australia Innovation Dialogue on July 24, 2025, where panels explored higher education, healthcare innovation, rare earth elements, next-generation energy, the role of national laboratories in an era of converging technologies and geopolitical disruption. To cap off this dialogue, the Hon. Deborah Wince-Smith, President and CEO, Council on Competitiveness, and Mr. Kiefel AM, Chairman and Cofounder, Australian Advisory Board on Competitiveness, signed a Compact for a Strategic U.S.–Australia Innovation Alliance, a statement of shared intent to position innovation as the defining factor of national competitiveness in the 21st century for the two allied nations. 

The Compact issues a clear call to action: to unleash the full innovation capacity of both nations, accelerate technology development and deployment, expand energy security and sustainability, strengthen skilled workforces, and foster collaborative innovation networks. By committing to deeper bilateral cooperation—including a proposed exclusive trade framework in critical resources—the Compact affirms the United States and Australia will stand together as strategic allies, harnessing innovation for economic growth, long-term security, resilience, and global leadership.

A Fireside Chat: Putting Competitiveness into Context —
The Challenges AND Opportunities for 2025

Dialogue leadership shared perspectives on the global economic, political, and social and realities facing the United States and Australia.

Participants:

• Mr. Charles Kiefel AM, Chairman, Australian Advisory Board on Competitiveness
• The Hon. Deborah L. Wince-Smith, President and CEO, Council on Competitiveness

Higher Education: Optimizing Its Role as a Lynchpin of U.S. and Australian Competitiveness

In the face of shifting demographic, structural, and political realities, along with increasing global competition, advanced economies need colleges and universities to meet their urgent research, knowledge creation, and talent development needs.

And, increasingly, towns, cities, states, and territories are turning to academic institutions as key drivers in regional innovation ecosystems. This session will examine the complex roles colleges and universities must play in an ever more complex world.

Participants:

• Mr. Jim Cooney, Non-Executive Chairman, TCI Renewables
• Dr. Peter Dorhout, Vice President for Research, Iowa State University
• Dr. Suresh Garimella, President, University of Arizona
• Ms. Colleen Harkin, Director, IPA Schools Program and Research Fellow, Institute of Public Affairs
• Moderator: Mr. Arun Abey AM, Executive Chairman, Walsh Bay Partners, -and-
  Chairman, External Advisory Board, College of Business and Economics, Australian National University

Global Healthcare Competitiveness

Better health is both a result and a driver of competitiveness. This conversation was grounded in the belief that everyone deserves the chance to flourish.

Participants:

• Dr. Geoff Brooke, Senior Partner, BioScience Managers
• Mr. Paul Davies, Director, Government Affairs for Australasia, Abbott Australia
• Dr. Steve Gourlay, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Actinogen
• Dr. Michael Wolf, Senior Vice President, Hevolution
• Moderator: Dr. Rachel Swift, Executive Director, Future Securities AI

National Laboratories and National Research Organizations:
Providing a Strategic Roadmap for Competitiveness and Security

In an era of disruption and discontinuity, the United States and Australia hold significant advantages in the global pursuit of new opportunities: the 17 national laboratories of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), more than 40 federally funded R&D centers in the United States, and the expansive research capabilities of institutes like CSIRO (the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation), which have among the world’s most highly skilled, mission-driven multidisciplinary workforces and advanced scientific infrastructure.

How can the two nations best leverage these assets – domestically and in partnership – to enhance economic competitiveness while still fulfilling the laboratories’ research and/or security missions?

Participants:

• Dr. Kate Evans, Director, Office of Institutional Strategic Planning, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
• Dr. Mark Peters, President and CEO, MITRE
• Ms. Anna-Maria Arabia OAM, Chief Executive, Australian Academy of Science
• Moderator:The Hon. Deborah L. Wince-Smith, President and CEO, Council on Competitiveness

Special Snapshot: State of the Workplace — Australia, the United States, and Global Trends

Speaker:

• Ms. Claire De Carteret, Managing Director, Gallup

Innovation Anywhere, Opportunities Everywhere:
Accelerating the Frontiers of Science and Technology

Out innovating our global competitors is essential for the future of the United States and Australia. Both nations are today at the forefront of developing and commercializing technologies that will shape the long-term trajectory of their economic and productivity growth, prosperity and national security. This conversation focused on exploring how both nations can unleash the innovation and commercialization necessary to establish themselves as global tech leaders.

Participants:

• Professor Russell Boyce, Managing Director, Mission Assurance
• Dr. Peter Dorhout, Vice President for Research, Iowa State University
• Dr. Brett Goldstein, Special Advisor to the Chancellor on National Security and Strategic Initiatives and Research Professor, School of Engineering, Vanderbilt University
• Mr. Phil Morle, Partner, Main Sequence
• Mr. Rick Wylie, CEO, KeyOptions
• Dr. Katherine Woodthorpe, President, ATSE
• Moderator: Mr. Chad Evans, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Council on Competitiveness

Natural Resources as a Defense Partnership: Is There a Better Way Forward to Strengthen the US-Australian Defence and Security Alliance?

Australia is a resource rich country. Could there be a more productive and bi-lateral use of Australia’s natural resources: gas, uranium, and precious minerals, and utilization of uninhabited land?

A competitive use of Natural resources, including uranium, gas, precious minerals, and energy transition issues including AI and data centers is a subject that requires healthy debate.

Participants:

• Mr. Saul Kavonic, Head of Energy Research, MST Financial
• The Hon. Arthur Sinodinos AO, Partner and Chair of the Australia Practice, The Asia Group
• Prof. Stephen Wilson, Adjunct Professor, Energy Management, School of Mechanical & Mining Engineering, The University of Queensland Australia
• Moderator: Mr. Charles Kiefel AM, Chairman, Australian Advisory Board on Competitiveness

Moving Beyond Policy and Creating a New U.S.-Australia Strategic Innovation Alliance for the 21st Century

Leaders discussed the next chapter in America’s and Australia’s innovation economies – and concrete ideas to advance mutual economic and productivity growth, prosperity, and security.

Participants:

• Mr. Bill Calcraft, Senior Advisor, Denham Capital
• Mr. Mal McComas, Private Investor, Lawyer, and Public Company Director, Actinogen Medical, and Director, Core Lithium
• Ms. April Palmerlee, CEO, AmCham Australia, and Chairman, AmChams of Asia Pacific
• Dr. Mark Peters, CEO, MITRE
• The Hon. Deborah L. Wince-Smith, President and CEO, Council on Competitiveness
• Moderator: Mr. Charles Kiefel AM, Chairman, Australian Advisory Board on Competitiveness

Signing Ceremony and Release of:
“A Compact for a Strategic U.S.-Australia Innovation Alliance”

Dialogue leadership signed and released a set of core recommendations and initiatives to advance a next-generation, non-partisan, private-sector driven innovation alliance between the United States and Australia.

Click here to review the Compact for a Strategic U.S.-Australia Innovation Alliance.

Our Hosts

Photo Gallery

Photo Credit: Dynamic Visuals