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“Solving the Economic Development Riddle – Building Economies from Within” Conference Program |
Downloads Available
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Timing & Format
The Australian Regional Economies Conference 2007 will consist of two full days of conference proceedings on Thursday 3 and Friday 4 May. A Welcome Reception will be held on the evening of Wednesday 2 May for early registrations and a chance to meet up with old friends and make new acquaintances, and the Conference Dinner on Thursday 3 May will be the socail highlight of the conference. The conference will include keynote addresses, case studies and interactive sessions.
Background to the Program
Demographic, cultural, economic, social and global influences on a scale never imagined are occurring at an alarming rate. Within this tumult many commentators agree that regional economic development is performing poorly. Regional Australia is often referred to as a “land of discontent”. Well-being and prosperity have declined in many regional centres disproportionably to their coastal and metropolitan cousins. And, in the face of all of this, regional policy is waxing and waning.
This conference examines a way forward through an economic gardening approach.
Economic gardening is a term used to describe strategies and programs that seek to rapidly grow local businesses with potential. The theory of economic gardening is based on local entrepreneurs as the seed for cumulative growth through innovation, market development, business linkages and scale. It has evolved as a successful economic development strategy over the last 15 years under the guidance of Chris Gibbons, the Director of Economic Development for the City of Littleton in Colorado, who remains at the forefront of the economic gardening approach.
Economic gardening was first discussed in Australia by Dr Phil Burgess, then Director of the Centre of New West, and now Telstra Group Managing Director, Public Policy and Communications. Dr Burgess will describe economic gardening and how it relates to the four themes of successful regional businesses - ‘fast and responsive’, ‘customised’, ‘networked’ and ‘global’.
The conference will feature inspirational keynotes from industry experts including Dr Burgess, as well as:
- Dr John Keniry AM;
- Marie Persson (Deputy Director-General, TAFE and Community Education, NSW Dept Education and Training);
- Nicholas Saunders (Vice Chancellor and President, University of Newcastle)
- Graham Paterson (Head of Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility, Westpac), and;
- Dr Roy Powell (Executive Chairman, Centre for Agricultural and Resource Economics).
There will also be workshops and panel discussions featuring the nation’s best examples of business, industry and community development. To further increase knowledge sharing there will be trade and poster displays, and both casual and formal networking opportunities including the Conference Dinner.
The objectives of this conference are:
- To reinstate business development as a core plank in regional development;
- To showcase initiatives in economic gardening in Australia and in the US;
- To assess the potential role of economic gardening in the context of trends in non-metropolitan regional economies;
- To identify the types of business services that are required for regional businesses that are not readily available;
- To explore approaches to economic gardening that meet the needs of businesses effectively, and;
- To discover ways to use economic gardening as a catalyst for creating economic activity in your area.
At the end of the conference participants should have:
- An understanding of the basic principles underlying economic gardening;
- An understanding of the scope of activities that constitute economic gardening;
- An understanding of the trends in regional economies that supports the adoption of an economic gardening program;
- The capacity to plan and resource an economic gardening program for their region, and;
- An ability to identify new business development initiatives that are inexpensive and readily implemented.
The Challenges
Regional development includes many activities relating to planning, infrastructure, promotion, business attraction and so on. The net performance of these has been described by many as patchy at best. This conference invites you to discover and learn solutions to tackle the challenging task of growing existing business.
Regional businesses have to contend with changes in key industries such as agriculture and tourism, the implications of globalisation, unimaginable changes in telecommunications technology and systems, tight labour markets and ageing populations. It is not surprising that business relocation is the main business development option adopted by regional organisations rather than the much more challenging task of economic gardening.
Latest Information
The landmark report on Regional Development prepared for the Federal Government by Dr John Keniry highlighted that few regional businesses were investor ready and able to operate well in the rapidly changing environment that now exists, and that regional businesses encounter difficulties in accessing relevant business support services. Dr Keniry will present an outline of his findings and an update of developments since that time on a national level.
Downloads Available
| View the Program and Registration Info (2,520Kb) Download the Full Program showing dates, timing, venue information etc, plus registration and accommodation booking forms - Click Here. |
| View the Registration and Accommodation Booking forms only (1,000Kb) Download the Registration and Accommodation Booking forms to see all the options - Click Here. |
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