CBRIN team at the 10 year anniversary celebration
Excitement about opening of the new Scale up Hub on Level 4 in Nov 2024.
CBRIN team at the 10 year anniversary celebration
Excitement about opening of the new Scale up Hub on Level 4 in Nov 2024.
CBRIN Board
CBRIN Board has independent directors and directors representing the Foundation members (here impage from Nov 2024).
CBRIN Board
CBRIN Board has independent directors and directors representing the Foundation members (here impage from Nov 2024).
CBRIN Team at the 2023 Innovation Showcase
The largest ever CBRIN event held at the Thoroughbred Park in December 2023.
CBRIN Team at the 2023 Innovation Showcase
The largest ever CBRIN event held at the Thoroughbred Park in December 2023.
CBRIN team at the 2022 Showcase
Held in Belconnen Arts Center this event in December 2022 attracted over 500 innovation community members.
CBRIN team at the 2022 Showcase
Held in Belconnen Arts Center this event in December 2022 attracted over 500 innovation community members.
CBRIN Foundation Members and Partners
Meet those who back our network.
CBRIN is an initiative of the ACT Government who joined forces with the Australian National University, University of Canberra, Canberra Institute of Technology and UNSW Canberra, CBRIN's Fundation Members, to set up CBRIN. Later, Academy of Interactive Entertainment and the Australian Catholic University joined as Education Partners. CBRIN also has private sector organisation supporters, namely its Gold Partners, King & Wood Mallessons, PwC, OPTUS and Canberra Airport.
Our Purpose and Principles
Purpose: Empowering entrepreneurial people to make an impact and change the world
Canberra innovation network exists to connect, promote and accelerate growth of the innovation ecosystem in the broader Canberra region. There are three core principles that drive all of our work.
Collective Impact
We will achieve greater and more impactful results by uniting stakeholders around shared goals and working together. This collaborative approach to developing the Canberra region innovation ecosystem builds on the Collective Impact methodology (Stanford Social Innovation Review).
What is collective impact?
Rainforest Culture
We focus on fostering a vibrant, trust-based environment where everyone can belong, contribute and benefit. In a "rainforest-like" innovation ecosystem, innovators are able to tinker and engage in trial and error to discover the most efficient ways of combining capital, talent and ideas.
What is Rainforest culture?
Innovation Driven Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
We are co-creating a vibrant, interconnected network that empowers businesses, academia, government, investors and citizens to work together on turning new ideas and knowledge into high-impact and viable ventures.
What are Innovation Ecosystems?
Impact of the Canberra Innovation Network
Success measured by tangible statistics
When we work together as a collective, the impacts multiply across the network. Read our Impact report to understand better how we encourage entrepreneurs across the ecosystem to grow companies that can change our world for better from the Canberra region..
1615
Jobs supported in 2024. This figure includes both direct and indirect impacts of the activity attributable to CBRIN.
$900M
Cummulative impact of the network on the Gross State Product of the Australian Capital Territory between 2014 and 2024.
$195M
Economic contribution to GSP of the ACT attributable to CBRIN in 2024 alone.
$57
Ecnomic return on every $1 of cash invested by ACT Government in CBRIN
Our story
Connecting innovation and entrepreneurship with science and research
The Canberra Innovation Network (CBRIN) is a not-for-profit launched in November 2014 as a collaboration between Canberra’s world class education and research institutions (our Foundation Members) and the Territory Government.
Our mission is to empower entrepreneurs to make an impact and change the world. In doing so, we are strengthening the position of Canberra as a clever, connected, and creative city where entrepreneurs and businesses build on our excellence in research and innovation to create social, economic and environmental benefits for all.
We take pride in Canberra’s innovation community and our programs are designed to enable budding entrepreneurs and SMEs to build on their ambition and grow rapidly. We connect leading experts, mentors and investors with founders and teams to accelerate the progress of their innovation projects.
We believe that entrepreneurs are everywhere, in garages, labs, classrooms, and all existing workplaces. Our ethos is to help them uncover their potential.
People
Meet the people behind the network.
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Our impact
Impact snapshot
Our economic impact
“Canberra is a great environment for innovation. The ACT Government’s support and investment in CBRIN through its first decade of growth has delivered significant economic outcomes for Canberra. CBRIN has supported the creation of more than 1,600 jobs, and economic growth worth almost $200 million to our gross state product in 2024 alone. As the centre of Canberra’s innovation ecosystem, CBRIN is well positioned to continue driving growth across Canberra’s strong and diverse economy.” – ACT Chief Minister, Andrew Barr MLA.
Our history
Over 10 years of impact
The Canberra Innovation Network (CBRIN) launched in November 2014 on the back of a progressive local government and collaboration between Canberra's world class education and research institutions, who now represent our Foundation Members.
2025
International recognition
In April CBRIN delivers the largest Investor Showcase to date with over 100 registered investors and out of state venture funds. In September CBRIN is recognised as Runner Up in Innovation & Entrepreneurial Ecosystem of the Year category at 2025 Global Triple E Awards held by ACEEU in Prague. In October Australian Catholic University joins as new Education partner. New format of annual Innovation Showcase successfully introduced at National Film and Sound Archive making it the largest event for CBRIN to date in terms of registrations (over 800).
2024
Level 4 Scale Up & SME Hub
CBRIN is funded by ACT Government to deliver refurbishment of Level 4 at 1 Moore St, to provide a space for scaling up and small and medium sized innovation companies. The space Launches in November 2024 just as CBRIN celebrates 10 years of its existence. CBRIN's economic impact assessed by PwC to be close to $900M added to the ACT Gross State Product since 2014 with $197M added just in 2024, contributing to 1,615 innovation jobs that would not exist without CBRIN's activity. This year CBRIN in collaboration with ANU, CIT, UC and UNSW Canberra launch ACT Government funded Prototyping Voucher program connecting innovators with physical prototypes to higher education based makerspaces and specialised equipment.
2023
Expansion strategy
CBRIN creates and adopts new strategy for 2023 - 2028 focusing on expansion of its physical footprint, broadening its offering for scale-ups and SMEs.
2022
Accelerating SMEs
CBRIN tests its first run of the SME accelerator, delivers AWS innovation workshops. Adaptive City Open Innovation Challenge, first college hackathon, 2 responsible innovation hackathons run both virtually and in person at the same time.
2021
Launch of Annual Investor Showcase
Federal Gov collaboration: Workshops for Department of Defense, Home Affairs, Scientist2Startup Founder for Department of Industry; Adaptive City CollabLabs for ACT Gov, OpenSource Hackathon, First Investor showcase, Impact report. AIE joins as Education partner.
2020
Responding to COVID
First virtual hackathon, first innovation challenge leading to FedGov sponsored incubation (Department of Agriculture Water and the Environment's Biosecurity Innovation program). First regional business accelerator. Data61 merges membership with CSIRO. Boosting Innovation Grants for SMEs administered as part of COVID response in partnership with ACT Government.
2019
CBRIN coworking launches
New Chair appointed, first CIT ZeroCO2 Hackathon, first collab lab for social good (employment pathways for people leaving the prison system) delivered in the ACT Corrective Services facility in Hume. Coworking space comes on board at CBRIN.
2018
Delivering first hackathon
First Hackathon by CBRIN (FatigueHack delivered for Austraian Trucking Asosciation as part of their multiday national conference in Canberra). First Research-to-Impact cohort. Rerfurb of CBRIN and Incubator space. Stakeholder Advisory Committee created. Incubation as a service delivered to Department of Primary Industries of the NSW Government to support early stage projects aiming to deliver innovation in agriculture.
2017
Clever, connected, creative brand
New CEO, 2018-20 strategy developed, focus on assisting entrepreneurs and researchers. Optus joins as Gold partner. Launch of slogan: Clever. Connected. Creative.
2016
Corporate innovation
First Collaborative innovation lab, PWC joins to support the incubator program of CBRIN, first corporate accelerator program designed and delivered (Disney).
2015
First Wednesday Connect
CIT joins CBRIN as a Foundation member, first First Wednesday Connect held on 1 July 2015, first Lean Startup Workshop, first incubator program client for CBRIN.
2014
The Groundwork
First cohort of Griffin Accelarator, Entry29 in demountable (1 year old), ANU proposes innovation strategy to ACT Government leading to establishment of CBRIN, launched in Nov 2014, KWM provides support to create CBRIN and continues as Gold Partner.
