2007 is the official 'year of the idea', but how many innovators have truly cottoned on to the fact?

The Australian Institute for Commercialisation (AIC) is inviting Australians to think about ideas as the first step towards innovation. Turn over a new leaf and mark the start of the new financial year by thinking about whether your new ideas might be worth something.

AIC boss Dr Rowan Gilmore says new ideas were vital to Australia's future to grow as a nation and to remain globally competitive.

"In times of strong economic growth we as a nation are optimally placed to invest in finding solutions to our problems. Challenges such as global warming, drought, water conservation, energy (reserves) and our decreasing global competitiveness are calling for radical solutions. These will stem from ideas," says Gilmore.

"There is a lot of talk around innovation, but we seem to have lost sight of the fact that innovation stems from an idea. We need to get back to basics and embrace ideas as part of our culture. Everybody has at least one idea everyday, but how many people actually do something with them? Ideas have the capacity to transform our lifestyles, our businesses and our economies and yet many of these ideas are hidden or even discarded. Now is the time to harvest more ideas and reap the rewards."

Inventions such as the lawnmower, the surf lifesaving reel, the Black Box, renewable skin tissue and cervical cancer vaccine are all Australian innovations that started with an idea and a commitment to doing something with it.