Management consultants VCI, in partnership with the Energy and Minerals Institute at The University of Western Australia, has launched the third annual survey of global mining executives as part of the Innovation: State of PlayTM platform.
This follows surveys in 2013 and 2014, as well as the release of the CEO Insights report this year, in which the biggest names in global mining took part in a ground breaking review of innovation strategy across the world’s leading mining companies.
VCI Founding Partner, Dr Graeme Stanway, said the goal of Innovation: State of Play was to create a ‘think tank’ type platform to support industry benchmarking and promote discussion on how businesses effectively develop innovation strategy and architecture for competitive advantage.
“The mining industry recognises itself as being conservative with respects to innovation,” Dr Stanway said. “But the changing global marketplace in recent years has increased pressure on mining leaders to lift their game when it comes to implementing successful innovation strategies.
“Much of the material that is available on innovation is focused on technology. The Innovation: State of Play platform is more about strategy, and provides a roadmap for every executive involved in the global mining industry.”
The 2016 survey will allow detailed comparison with 2013 and 2014 data on different aspects of how the innovation ecosystem works in the mining industry, and what steps could be taken to move it to a level enjoyed by leading innovative industries, such as agribusiness, automotive and telecommunications.
EMI Director Mark Stickells said the survey will help the industry understand how to apply innovation strategy in a cost-conscious and highly competitive global marketplace.
“It will be interesting to see how this year’s survey results differ from the previous survey in 2014, when the pressures of a downturn in global commodity prices had only just begun to bite.”