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Translating Australia’s research strength into impact

Australia’s research capability is world class - but translating discovery into delivery remains one of our biggest challenges. The 2026 Ambitious Australia report (Strategic Examination of Research and Development) affirms what many across the system already know: Australia’s world class research capability is one of our greatest strengths but translating that capability consistently into impact remains a critical challenge.

For CSIRO’s ON Innovation Program, this is where we work every day. Operating at the interface of research, innovation and commercialisation, we see first-hand both the extraordinary potential of Australian science and the complexity of navigating the pathways to impact. Through structured, experience led support, ON helps research teams build capability, test assumptions and move ideas closer to market.

An overview of the ON vision, mission and programs.

A decade of strong, reliable outcomes for Australian research

The ON Program is a proven, national platform connecting research with markets, capital, capability and community to deliver real world outcomes.

Over the past decade, ON has supported more than 8,800 researchers to move from discovery to delivery across the national innovation system. We have contributed to over $914 million in investment and commercialisation funding, with 165 alumni companies and helped create more than 1,300 jobs.  

Learn more about our program’s impact and our alumni in this portfolio.

Supporting capability, not just the project

Our approach — built around structured customer discovery, early testing of assumptions, and a shared language between researchers and markets — was recently benchmarked alongside leading international programs across nine countries in The Journal of Technology Transfer. The findings affirmed what experience has shown us: methodology matters.

ON’s long-standing role in the system aligns closely with the priorities outlined in the Ambitious Australia report. Our programs are:

  • Driving economic growth from research by helping teams identify real customer needs and viable markets early
  • Strengthening translation pathways through structured, staged programs that de‑risk opportunities at each phase
  • Enabling system cohesion by connecting universities, research agencies, investors, industry and government around shared methods and language

We de-risk opportunities, build translational capability, and play a proactive role in connecting institutions, investors, and partners across what can otherwise be a fragmented landscape. The program focuses on capability and culture uplift, not just technology outcomes.

As Australia sharpens its focus on building a more connected and effective R&D system, ON remains committed to enabling research teams to move from discovery to delivery, ensuring our national science continues to generate meaningful, lasting impact.

Every pathway is different. Explore the stories of ON alumni and the lessons they learned as they turned research into real‑world outcomes.

Read our case studies

Our journey

A timeline of the ON Program since 2015.

The ON Innovation Program is funded under the Research Translation and Commercialisation Agenda (previously known as the University Research Commercialisation Action Plan or URCAP) through FY2027 and remains focused on delivering strong outcomes for Australia's research and innovation ecosystem.

Through ON, researchers are building the commercialisation capability needed to translate publicly funded research into services, ventures and technological solutions that deliver economic and societal benefit.

We remain committed to delivering impact throughout the current funding period.

Decisions regarding funding beyond FY2027 will be a matter for future Australian Government and CSIRO priorities.

Hear from our community

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Translating Australia’s research strength into impact

Australia’s research capability is world class - but translating discovery into delivery remains one of our biggest challenges. The 2026 Ambitious Australia report (Strategic Examination of Research and Development) affirms what many across the system already know: Australia’s world class research capability is one of our greatest strengths but translating that capability consistently into impact remains a critical challenge.

For CSIRO’s ON Innovation Program, this is where we work every day. Operating at the interface of research, innovation and commercialisation, we see first-hand both the extraordinary potential of Australian science and the complexity of navigating the pathways to impact. Through structured, experience led support, ON helps research teams build capability, test assumptions and move ideas closer to market.

Our vision is to unlock the power of Australian research to solve our biggest challenges.

Our mission is to empower every publicly funded researcher in Australia to translate their knowledge into real world impact by connecting them to world class programs, expert resources and an inclusive community.

ON Prime: Exists to help Australian researchers discover the pathways through which their Science and Technology can create positive impact.

ON Accelerate: Exists to support ambitious researchers to accelerate their most promising deep tech research from lab to market.

ON Translate: Formerly known as ON Core, is the heartbeat of our community - bringing researchers, mentors, partners and innovators together to connect, learn, collaborate and celebrate.

A decade of strong, reliable outcomes for Australian research

The ON Program is a proven, national platform connecting research with markets, capital, capability and community to deliver real world outcomes.

Over the past decade, ON has supported more than 8,800 researchers to move from discovery to delivery across the national innovation system. We have contributed to over $914 million in investment and commercialisation funding, with 165 alumni companies and helped create more than 1,300 jobs.  

Learn more about our program’s impact and our alumni in this portfolio.

Supporting capability, not just the project

Our approach — built around structured customer discovery, early testing of assumptions, and a shared language between researchers and markets — was recently benchmarked alongside leading international programs across nine countries in The Journal of Technology Transfer. The findings affirmed what experience has shown us: methodology matters.

ON’s long-standing role in the system aligns closely with the priorities outlined in the Ambitious Australia report. Our programs are:

  • Driving economic growth from research by helping teams identify real customer needs and viable markets early
  • Strengthening translation pathways through structured, staged programs that de‑risk opportunities at each phase
  • Enabling system cohesion by connecting universities, research agencies, investors, industry and government around shared methods and language

We de-risk opportunities, build translational capability, and play a proactive role in connecting institutions, investors, and partners across what can otherwise be a fragmented landscape. The program focuses on capability and culture uplift, not just technology outcomes.

As Australia sharpens its focus on building a more connected and effective R&D system, ON remains committed to enabling research teams to move from discovery to delivery, ensuring our national science continues to generate meaningful, lasting impact.

Every pathway is different. Explore the stories of ON alumni and the lessons they learned as they turned research into real‑world outcomes.

Read our case studies

Our journey

Pilot CSIRO

2015-2016

  • CSIRO’s early Lean LaunchPad pilots built entrepreneurial skills, shifting researchers from technical validation to market viability.

NISA ON 1.0

2016-2020

  • NISA funding enabled ON’s national expansion, with Accelerate, Prime, Launch Camp and Tribe building pathways to ventures and culture of commercialisation.
  • Hiatus

2020-2022

  • After NISA, ON trialled new formats; virtual Prime, Prime Lite, tailored CSIRO programs, and Defence’s D.Start partnerships.

URCAP ON 2.0

2022-2027

  • Under URCAP, ON relaunched with refreshed Prime and Accelerate, introduced ON Core, and set a new strategy to broaden impact and support Australia’s research community.
Under URCAP, ON relaunched with refreshed Prime and Accelerate, introduced ON Core, and set a new strategy to broaden impact and support Australia’s research community.

The ON Innovation Program is funded under the Research Translation and Commercialisation Agenda (previously known as the University Research Commercialisation Action Plan or URCAP) through FY2027 and remains focused on delivering strong outcomes for Australia's research and innovation ecosystem.

Through ON, researchers are building the commercialisation capability needed to translate publicly funded research into services, ventures and technological solutions that deliver economic and societal benefit.

We remain committed to delivering impact throughout the current funding period.

Decisions regarding funding beyond FY2027 will be a matter for future Australian Government and CSIRO priorities.

Hear from our community

[Music plays and an image appears of a split circle, and photos move through of CSIRO activities in either side of the circle, and then the circle morphs into the CSIRO logo]

[Image changes to show colleagues interacting at a CSIRO ON Alumni displaying various business’ booths]

[Image changes to show colleagues interacting over a medical display, and then the image changes to show Jorden Greene AM holding a microphone while talking to the camera]

Jordan Greene AM: Australia has always been a leader in science and technology.

[Image changes to show Zac Bailey holding a microphone while talking to the camera, and then the image changes to show the business Amorfoil’s product display]

Zac Bailey: We don't just want our research to stay on the shelves of academia.

[Image changes to show a male talking to a female wearing a headset and headphones while holding controls and a female is standing beside her]

We want it to be out there in the world building new products and services.

[Music plays as image changes to show a blue slide, and text appears: For over a decade, ON has empowered researchers to unlock the potential of their research. To think bigger, move faster and create lasting real-world impact]

[Image shows a new slide with five circles containing numbers, and text appears below each circle: 165, New companies formed, $914M+, Funding raised by alumni, 8,800+, Program participants, 55,000+, Customer conversations reported in program, 300+, Programs delivered, *as of 30 June 2026]

[Image changes to show Dr Olga Hogan holding a microphone while talking to the camera, and then the image changes to show colleagues conversing around a table, and text appears: Dr Olga Hogan, Head of Funds Management, Innovation Victoria]

Dr Olga Hogan: It's really eye opening for the teams that it's not about great science.

[Image changes to show a female talking to colleagues, and then the image changes to show another female talking to colleagues]

It's about fitting that into the workflows of the customers.

[Image changes to show a medium view of Jordan holding a microphone and talking to the camera, and then the camera zooms in on Jordan talking, and text appears: Jordan Greene AM, President Emeritus & Founder, Melbourne Angels]

Jordan Greene AM: If you don't build for them, then you're not building for anyone.

[Images move through to show Olga holding a microphone while talking to the camera, a male talking to an audience, a female presenting, a female talking to an audience, and a male talking to an audience]

Dr Olga Hogan: As an investor, I see a big difference between founders who went through ON and founders who have not done any type of accelerator programs.

[Images move through to show Dr Priscilla Tremain holding a microphone while talking to the camera, colleagues interacting around a table, colleagues looking at laptops, and a male presenting, and text appears: Dr Priscilla Tremain, CEO & Inventor, Hydro Harvester, ON Accelerate 10 Alumna]

Dr Priscilla Tremain: It's been a complete mind shift going and doing customer discovery, learning how to map your markets and then figuring out how to actually sell the product that you've developed all the science for.

[Images move through to show Ella Casale holding a microphone while talking to the camera, colleagues presenting their business, and a female presenting, and text appears: Ella Casale, Project Manager, Elemental Therapeutics, ON Accelerate 9 Alumna]

Ella Casale: In Australia, you need more than what the universities offer, something outside of that external to your universities where you're getting lots and lots of different opinions.

[Images move through to show a female talking to colleagues, colleagues interacting around a table, colleagues listening to a male talking, rear view of colleagues talking, and colleagues in conversation]

The ON program really gave us that safe space, but also with the right expertise around you, where you could test out your different value propositions and get that rapid feedback on it.

[Images move through to show an ON Innovation Program information banner, an ON Translate sign, Prof. Myriam Amielh talking to the camera, a range of views of colleagues interacting, and text appears: Prof. Myriam Amielh, Dean of Enterprise and Innovation Australian Catholic University]

Prof. Myriam Amielh: ON has not only changed how I think about my research, but it is changing how my university is thinking about research, and we are now building our pipeline of research translation projects and sending as many projects as we can through to ON.

[Images move through to show Alan C. O’Connor talking to the camera, females interacting, a female talking to a male, and an audience listening to a panel of three speakers, and text appears: Alan C. O’Connor, Director of Innovation Economics, RTI International]

Alan C. O’Connor: ON’s special sauce is really about creating community, bringing innovators, investors, industry and strategic partners together.

[Image changes to show Zac talking to the camera holding a microphone, and then the image changes to show the CareWindow colleagues interacting around a table, and text appears: Zac Bailey, Co-Founder, CareWindow, ON Accelerate 10 Alumnus]

Zac Bailey: Our research team and product teams used to really just see themselves as staff.

[Images move through to show a female listening to a female, a female talking whilst pointing behind her, and the female on stage presenting to an audience with a slide about the growing market for connecting families]

But now through this program, they get to see themselves as entrepreneurs and get to think more like about how they're going to grow the business rather than just how they're going to participate in it.

[Images move through to show Prof. Peter Choong AM talking to the camera holding a microphone, Peter with colleagues listening to a male, and Peter on stage presenting to an audience, and text appears: Prof. Peter Choong AM, Co-Founder, Axcelda, ON Accelerate 10 Alumnus]

Prof. Peter Choong AM: What ON has taught us is how to take discovery to translation.

[Image changes to show Jordan talking to the camera holding a microphone]

Jordan Greene AM: It helps us get more of the top grade research that gets done, translated into an impact for the benefit of the community who fund it.

[Image changes to show Peter talking to the camera holding a microphone, a large group of colleagues posing for a photo, and a female laughing with colleagues]

Prof. Peter Choong AM: Australia only has 26 million people, but there are so many people there who have so much to offer.

[Image changes to show colleagues laughing together, a female walking along the front row of audience collecting high fives, Tennille Eyre smiling on stage, and ten an audience applauding]

And in the world of research technology, the ON program is what fertilises those great ideas.

[Music plays as image changes to show the CSIRO logo above text: Australia’s National Science Agency]


It's ON: Powering research to impact

The ON Innovation Program is empowering Australia's publicly funded researchers and SMEs with the skills, networks and pathways needed to translate their big ideas into real-world impact.

Find out more and how to apply