The Innovation Centre - Microsoft / South Australia Government : FAQ

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FAQ
There are many frequently asked questions about the Innovation Centre ranging from "What is the Innovation Centre?" through to "How can we become involved?". Check through this section for the answers to many of these questions.

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Q. What is the Innovation Centre?

A. The Innovation Centre is a strategic relationship between the South Australian Government and Microsoft. Government agencies and local Partners will be involved in the identification of business problems, the creation of project submissions and the development of business IT solutions that can service "Whole of Government" outcomes. The Innovation Centre also provides economic development for the state by fostering the participation and development of local industry capabilities.

Q. What are the objectives of the Innovation Centre?

A. The establishment of the Innovation Centre will assist the South Australian Government focusing efforts towards:

promoting the Information Economy through innovation and the best practice use and development of the Microsoft software available to Government;
achieving maximum business value to Government and local industry partners;
encouraging the accelerated development and deployment of best practice business applications;
supporting effective business to business and business to consumer information exchange;
creating virtual information exchange networks and research to the advantage of the Government and South Australia generally.

Q. Why do I get a "Security Alert" when accessing the portal?

A. You may see a warning dialog because the Portal has been secured using a certificate issued by the "Microsoft Innovation Centre South Australia":

To solve this problem, you need to trust the issuer of this certificate which can be done by following the instructions here.

Q. What is the focus of the Innovation Centre?

A. The focus of the Innovation Centre is the development of value-added applications and business solutions. Building on the existing software base will maximise the South Australian Government's investment in Microsoft software products. Areas include:

e-Government initiatives;
business to business and business to customer e-commerce initiatives;
portal developments;
re-engineering activities using both currently available technologies and new technologies to be developed through innovation.

Q. Who can access the Innovation Centre?

A. Access to the Centre is open to all Government agencies, business enterprises and statutory authorities including:

departments or other administrative units of the public service or other instrumentalities or agencies of the Crown;
bodies corporate established for a public purpose and comprised of or including, or having a governing Minister or other instrumentality or agency of the Crown;
any body whether corporate or unincorporated established for a public purpose and declared by regulation to be a public authority;
any body incorporated under the SA Health Commission Act.

Q. How long will the application process take?

A. Applications submitted to the Innovation Centre are formally considered on a weekly basis. If an application is successful in progressing further, timing would be dependant on the nature and complexity of the project.

Q. What is the selection criteria for my organisation to participate?

A. Local industry partners will be selected from those that have qualified for and hold current Microsoft® Certified Partner status in South Australia. This form of industry accreditation recognises the presence of certified technical skills within the local industry partner and enables the development of skills in new and emerging Microsoft technologies.

Employees of local industry partners involved in the delivery of projects will be expected to have Microsoft® Certified Professional status in the appropriate Microsoft technologies. These credentials show that individuals have the skills to successfully implement a Microsoft product or technology as part of a business solution in an organization. Hands-on experience with the product is necessary to successfully achieve certification. Where MCP accreditation is not yet available for a new or emerging Microsoft technology local partners must be committed to undertaking joint ‘Technical Readiness’ planning with Microsoft in order to obtain and maintain the appropriate skills for the project in South Australia. This may be either ‘on the job’ skills transfer via MCS on project work or a more formal structured program as appropriate.

Q. Who is involved in the selection process?

A. The Innovation Centre Management Committee, consisting of representatives from Microsoft and the Department for Administrative and Information Services, is responsible for assessing, prioritising and approving project applications to be undertaken by the Centre.

Q. Who manages the Innovation Centre?

A. The Innovation Centre Steering Committee, consisting of representatives from Microsoft and Government Agencies, will oversee and approve activities of the Innovation Centre. It will guide the broad direction of the Centre from a strategic perspective and monitor all strategic outcomes to be delivered by the Centre.

Q. How does the Innovation Centre aim to benefit the community?

A. The Innovation Centre will act as an incubator to foster and develop new ideas and value added business solutions, using the Microsoft platform:

knowledge management technologies;
digital dashboard initiatives;
digital nervous system initiatives.

It will provide a combination of resources to mentor and manage ideas to prototype stage. It will also coordinate local industry clusters to help develop specific initiatives to provide economic development opportunities.

Q. Where is the Innovation Centre located?

A. The Centre is located at the Adelaide offices of Microsoft. It offers a portal-web site facilitating learning, information exchange, research and development and innovation activities. It also includes a development environment to foster the free-flow of ideas and learnings across all Innovation Centre projects.