MEDTECCH – BUILDING A REGIONAL INDUSTRY CLUSTER
A CASE STUDY OF COMPETITIVE STRENGTH
Kate O ’ Mara and Trevor John
Building capacity , creating high-skill jobs and attracting investment are key tenets of economic growth . But , in a complex , diverse economy how do we know the industries to back ; the ones that will stand us in good stead for the future : deliver new jobs and future growth ?
Regional Development Australia ( RDA ) Hunter contemplated these questions in 2014 in the face of a new round of economic transition in the Hunter region of NSW .
Traditional industries like mining , manufacturing and energy production are the bedrock of the region ’ s economic success . Shifting to new renewable energy sources marked the start of another round of change in a region well accustomed to ‘ pivoting ’.
RDA Hunter , as the Federal Government ’ s vehicle to support economic development in the Hunter region , was challenged to plan for and support economic and industrial diversification in these changing times . We looked to other countries and , particularly , regions that had successfully navigated to new economies , noting that building on their strengths and specialisations were significant success factors .
We identified the OECD ’ s ( Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development ) Smart Specialisation framework as applied to European Union regions was potentially an effective technique to identify the Hunter ’ s key strengths . During 2014 and 2015 , the smart specialisation platform for strategic economic planning provided us with a blueprint for ascertaining the region ’ s sectors of economic strength . It helped us narrow down the sectors that had potential to deliver innovation-driven jobs growth and that would benefit from triple helix interactions to foster economic development .
Our 2016 report identified seven sectors of strength : Food and agri-business ; Mining Equipment , Technology and Services ; Medical Technologies and Pharmaceuticals ; Oil , Gas and Energy Resources ; Advanced Manufacturing ; Defence ; and Creative Industries . Since then , we have been working to make connections and identify growth opportunities within and , sometimes , between these areas .
Looking back , we recognise the essential elements of building a regional industry
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