ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT QUARTERLY
FINALIST
RDA BAROSSA
“Transforming Business 2017 Conference”
The conference topic for 2017 held on 10th August
2017, in the Barossa region was “Smart Technology
and how it can affect a business. The Conference
Program covered topics including:
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Artificial Intelligence and how it impacts
business?
Opportunities that are coming with Smart
Technology in the next 12 months
Social Media, Digital Media, and how
communication channels are changing
How important is consumer research?
How to connect with 889M Chinese Consumers
by using WeChat
How Virtual Reality and Office 365 can be used
effectively in business today
The target markets were business owners,
employers, government and entrepreneurs.
RDA raised funding for the event through 22
sponsors. This coupled with ticket sales of 192
attendees resulted in over $20,000 being raised,
which allowed RDA to cover all their costs of this
conference.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS
WINNER
MANJIMUP SHIRE COUNCIL
“Southern Forests Food Council Inc.”
The Southern Forests Food Council Inc. (SFFC)
was established in 2012 to represent the interests
of local producers, culinary and agri-tourism
operators and to foster the Southern Forests’
status as one of the nation’s premier food bowls
and culinary tourism regions.
The Southern Forests region is located in the
beautiful south west corner of Western Australia
and is home to over 50 different types of fruits
and vegetables, truffles, nuts, wine, gourmet
products, beef, sheep and dairy farms as well as
extraordinary culinary experiences.
The SFFC has united the region under the brand,
Genuinely Southern Forests, allowing Southern
Forests producers to collectively promote and
supply their premium, quality produce to domestic
and international markets. The SFFC has
developed direct export markets as well as direct
access to domestic markets for local growers and
other bespoke programs.
The SFFC has delivered increased profits to
growers through supply chain efficiencies,
branding and exports. The efforts of the SFFC
has delivered $3.8 million in investment to expand
crops, 48 new jobs and $2.4 million in local Gross
Regional Product. In the future, the economic
benefits of the SFFC are expected to increase
substantially, as more and more growers leverage
the programs and activities of the SFFC and new
tourism experiences are introduced to the market.
In five years, it is estimated that the activities
of SFFC will generate $34 million in GRP and
support 182 jobs as well as supporting tens of
millions in agricultural investment.
VOL.10 NO.2 2017 | 11