Innovation happens by design.

The Innovation Mission is the executive advisory practice of Will Schmitt — working at the intersection of government, industry, and capital to build the strategies, ecosystems, and investment environments that drive real innovation results.

The environments that make innovation possible — the policies, funding structures, investment frameworks, and partnerships — have to be deliberately designed. Will brings twenty years of experience doing exactly that, helping governments make smarter bets on innovation investment, helping institutions design ecosystems that attract and deploy capital effectively, and helping organisations understand how to position themselves at the frontier of where public and private resources meet. The Innovation Mission exists to apply that experience where it matters most.

Will’s Areas of Practice


Governance and Executive Advisory

Supporting boards, investment committees, and senior leadership teams on what well-designed innovation looks like, how to evaluate it, and how to govern the deployment of public and private capital over time.



Innovation Strategy and Investment

Helping governments, companies and universities design the investment frameworks, funding architectures, and policy settings that direct capital toward innovation that matters — from fund design national blueprints and mission-oriented investment programs to precinct strategy and open innovation.


Ecosystem design and development

Building the connective tissue that makes innovation ecosystems work — the intermediaries, capital pathways, international linkages, and public-private partnerships that turn proximity into collaboration and collaboration into investable outcomes.

Client List

Advance Queensland

CSIRO

Monash University

AgriFutures Australia

Charles Sturt University

NSW Department of Primary Industries & Regional Development (DPIRD)

Meat & Livestock Australia

FREO2 Foundation

Australian National University

Resonance Global

Rocket Seeder

Palladium

Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade

Hort Innovation