Innovation Sounding Board & Blog

A crisis is often the trigger for innovation - October 2011.

This is true in the life cycles of businesses, as well as in the history of regions.

While many of us have been aware of the impending changes in the steel industry for some time, it has been difficult to convince people of the need to plan for change in advance.

Now that the change is upon us there has been a sudden, broader recognition of the need for the Illawarra region to innovate its way into the future.

The new environment is enabling the promotion of some of the smarter ideas we have been working on. This includes the concept of a revitalised regional economy centred around an 'innovation ecosystem'.

But innovation won't happen just because we talk about it. Ideas need to be implemented, and the good news is that this is starting to happen too.

When innovation is used to build an economy it is invariably driven by a combination of entrepreneurship and invention. So a dramatic expansion of entrepreneurial activity is essential!

We have been working for many years on the development of local entrepreneurship strategy – 'Economic Gardening'. Now the entrepreneurship message is taking hold!

The University of Wollongong (with partners including Wollongong City Council, NSW Trade & Investment and Enterprise Connect) has become a champion of this cause with the advent of 'e-Club', StartPad and, ultimately, iAccelerate.

iAccelerate

On 18^th October Elizabeth Eastland from the University of Wollongong launched the iAccelerate project at the RDA Illawarra Regional Leaders Summit. This exciting project represents one of the pathways to the future for our regional economy. I encourage you to find out more about this broad-ranging innovation project www.iaccelerate.com.au.

$30 million Illawarra Innovation Investment Fund

The steel industry re-structure has presented our region with opportunities as well as threats. One of these opportunities is the Illawarra Innovation Investment Fund. Prime Minister Julia Gillard officially launched the fund on 18^th October. The guidelines are now available www.ausindustry.gov.au/CommunityAssistance/IRIIF/Pages/IRIIF-FactSheet.aspx. I would strongly encourage Sounding Board members to help identify potential business innovation projects.

NBN

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has also announced the extended roll-out of the National Broadband Network in the Illawarra region. The NBN is arguably the key piece of economic infrastructure for the first part of the 21^st century. Because of the early roll-out in the Illawarra, our region can gain competitive advantage from this infrastructure if we act quickly and cleverly to capitalise on it.

Mapping the Connections

This important supply chain mapping project is underway now in the Illawarra manufacturing / mining technology sector. It provides us with much deeper insights into the capabilities of our industries than we have previously possessed. It helps us to understand more about where we should focus our business innovation efforts. The next sector targeted for Mapping the Connections in the Illawarra region is the emerging Clean Technology sector.

Please share your ideas about how the Illawarra region can use these innovation opportunities.

Contact: john.grace@innovation.gov.au

Is our region missing the new wave of global opportunity?

Many of the regions we compete with around the world are forging their economic futures based on 21^st Century concepts about economic development.

The latest Cities of Opportunity report (May 2011) published by Price Waterhouse Coopers provides us with vital insights into the latest thinking about the characteristics that create globally successful cities http://www.pwc.com/us/en/cities-of-opportunity. The report analyses cities according to 10 characteristics:

• Intellectual Capital and Innovation
• Technology readiness
• Transport and Infrastructure
• Health, Safety and Security
• Sustainability
• Economic Clout
• Ease of doing business
• Cost
• Demographics and Livability
• Lifestyle Assets

21^st Century economic development strategies are inevitably going to be focused on these characteristics (notice that Innovation is first on the list).

We must ask the question: Are the Illawarra and Shoalhaven being bypassed by the new wave of thinking about economic development?

Our region may never be competing directly with New York, Toronto, San Francisco, Stockholm and Singapore, but we will be competing with regions that strive to emulate their characteristics.

Arguably, our current economic development strategies are based on ideas from last century; and yet the Illawarra and Shoalhaven possess many of the building blocks needed to become a region of opportunity.

What do you think?

• Can we create a new type of economic development strategy that genuinely aspires to utilise the best thinking from around the world?
• Can we gain agreement across the region about implementing the practical aspects of innovative economic development strategy?

Inaugural Sounding Board Blog 

Finally – after communicating by email for five months the Innovation Sounding Board had its first face-to-face get together on 16 March.

This is an informal group comprised of clever people from a range of sectors and locations in the region. The Sounding Board discusses the development of practical strategies to create an innovation-based economy in Illawarra and Shoalhaven.

The first meeting raised a number of issues that are crucial to the future prosperity of our region:

• Innovation is not a 'fluffy' idea; it is a fundamental, practical factor in the success of modern businesses and industries.
• There is evidence from around the world that regions with a higher proportion of innovative businesses and individuals are those which prosper, and whose inhabitants thrive.
• The Illawarra-Shoalhaven region does not yet have an 'open innovation' system - an environment that encourages the flow of new ideas between businesses, organisations and institutions. While there are some exceptions to this, innovation in our region generally happens in 'silos'.
• This situation can (and must) be remedied.
• The economy of our region faces serious threats. The process of transforming the economic base must continue, and must gather pace. 
• Major barriers often confront innovative businesses in our region, especially start-ups and small and medium sized businesses. Some of these challenges are financial and others are technical, or involve access to knowledge and skills.
• If the region is to be competitive in a globalised economy it must develop strategies to help regional businesses overcome these barriers.
• Our region has many assets that can be utilised to build an innovation economy. It is not too late to act. Many other regional communities around the world have recently taken this path.
• Much can be achieved by building open communication channels and partnerships between organisations. While some assistance from government will be needed, a lot of the groundwork can be done by local people.

Please let us know if you are interested in contributing to the development of practical strategies to foster innovation in our region.