Deakin Management Centre
Waurn Ponds, Victoria
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There are many dimensions to Enterprise Connect.
It is both a physical network and a virtual network.
It is both a manufacturing network and a network dedicated to promoting innovation in all sectors of the economy and all parts of the country.
The unifying aim is to give small and medium-sized businesses better access to new ideas and new technologies.
It’s to make businesses more productive and competitive – not by scrambling for the bargain basement, but by focusing squarely on creativity and excellence.
Network and services
The Enterprise Connect network will consist of new Manufacturing Centres in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and Burnie, plus QMI Solutions in Brisbane.
There will also be five innovation centres:
- the Mining Technology Centre in Mackay
- the Remote Enterprise Centre in Alice Springs
- the Creative Industries Centre
- the Clean Energy Centre
- and the Innovative Regions Centre we are launching here in Geelong today.
Each of these centres will be a gateway to Australia’s innovation infrastructure – whether in universities, public research organisations or in the private sector.
At last count, 887 companies had applied for Enterprise Connect business reviews.
Tailored advisory, client management, mentoring, problem-solving, networking, knowledge dissemination, linkage and technical services will all follow.
So will Researchers in Business – a program that will place public sector researchers in firms with ideas that could be translated into marketable products and services with a bit of expert assistance.
So far, 298 applications have been received from Victorian firms, of which 275 have been approved.
One hundred and nine firms have completed their business review, and sixteen have gone on to receive a tailored advisory services grant.
These are dollar-for-dollar grants of up to $20,000.
Combined with matching funds from the successful firms, the $266,325 granted to date will generate over half a million dollars worth of new investment in innovation and enterprise improvement.
The grants are being used to fund strategic planning, operational changes, marketing plans, the development of products and services, and measures to boost productivity.
Innovative Regions Centre
The Innovative Regions Centre has a very special role to play within this system.
It will deliver Enterprise Connect services to regions and regional firms around Australia.
It will work with regional business associations and authorities to develop region-specific strategies for improving economic performance.
There will be a particular emphasis on boosting innovation capacity by encouraging partnerships, networks and alliances among firms.
The Australian Government is investing $20 million in the centre over four years.
I don’t want to be accused of recycling announcements, so I should stress that I gave that funding commitment some time ago.
But I also have some important fresh news to share with you today.
I am very pleased to announce that Professor Roy Green, Dean of the Macquarie Graduate School of Management, has agreed to chair the centre’s advisory board.
The centre’s initial charter is to work in five regions.
Geelong will be one, North Adelaide will be another, and the advisory board will make recommendations on the remaining three.
Here in Geelong, the centre will be collaborating closely with organisations like G21 to ensure that the additional resources available through Enterprise Connect complement rather than duplicate the good work already being done in the region.
It will also team up with Deakin University, where the centre is based.
Deakin is one of this region’s greatest assets, and arguably its most important piece of innovation infrastructure.
Which brings me to my second piece of news.
To cement the partnership between Deakin and the Innovative Regions Centre, the Australian Government will grant the university $1,050,000 over three years to engage up to three regional strategy advisers, who will be seconded to the centre.
This will allow the university to play a practical part in the centre’s development, and create a channel through which the centre can access resources at Deakin and across the wider university sector.
The future
It is no accident that the Innovative Regions Centre is being established at Geelong.
This is an area with great assets and huge potential.
With the right support, it can become a model of regional innovation for the whole country.
Enterprise Connect is here to provide that support, and it is a very great pleasure to declare the Innovative Regions Centre open.