Executive Summary

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are transforming economies and society, and this transformation is happening at an increasing rate. The Ballarat ICT 2030 strategy seeks to build on past successes and position Ballarat as a leading international Information and Communications Technology (ICT) centre. The ICT 2030 strategy represents a joint undertaking by Ballarat ICT Ltd. (previously cBallarat), the City of Ballarat and the University of Ballarat to develop the next generation strategy for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the Ballarat region.

The Ballarat ICT 2030 strategy recognises ICT's potential as a driver of economic and social development in the region. Ballarat will capture such benefits through fostering an environment that encourages new investment, business start-ups, sophisticated research and the rapid transfer of new ICT knowledge and innovations. The ICT 2030 strategy also recognises the need to encourage greater adoption and advantageous use across all business sectors and the wider community.

The ICT 2030 strategy builds on its predecessor, Ballarat IT 2010, which supported the region’s ICT developments since its inception in 1994. During this time, Ballarat has grown its ICT capability through a number of initiatives, highlighted by the development and growth of the University of Ballarat Technology Park and local enterprises that constitute the region’s nascent ICT cluster. Ballarat now has the highest proportion of ICT employees in regional Victoria and the third largest in regional Australia.

The ICT 2030 strategy is based on emerging trends and opportunities and the developing resources and competencies of the Ballarat ICT Cluster. The speed of technological and economic change is happening so fast that whole industries are shifting the basis of their competitiveness and organisation, and new social phenomena are emerging.

The rapidly changing technologies of wireless, quantum computing and knowledge based software are creating new opportunities and new models of value that the Ballarat ICT cluster will need to confront in an agile and flexible manner. The ICT 2030 strategy highlights the need for Ballarat to migrate to a more competitive, innovative and sustainable structure. The strategy recognises that the most important resources for the future competitiveness of Ballarat are the knowledge assets generated from the activity of a growing ICT cluster and the foresighted support of the community, government, institutions and businesses.

BALLARAT ICT 2030 VISION:

Ballarat will become acknowledged internationally for the strength and innovativeness of its ICT industry, the strategic use of ICT by lead users in the region, and the rapid diffusion and effective use of new technologies by its community.

The ICT 2030 vision has been translated into the following eight strategies, with each supported by a number of strategic actions.

Strategies	Strategic Actions
Laying the foundations and improving the infrastructure	Establish Ballarat ICT with its primary purpose being to ensure that all agencies, organisations and groups that exist to foster regional development and represent the interests of the Ballarat ICT community are actively committed to and involved in realising the direction and projects of Ballarat ICT 2030 and for the conveying of these to the community. Pursue partnerships with governments, telecommunications providers and others to ensure Ballarat achieves its strategic requirements for the delivery and maintenance of world's-best infrastructure.
Improving the skills	Develop, attract and retain the ICT talent that the Ballarat region needs to prosper. Deliver IT and business graduates who are work-ready with adaptable knowledge, skills and competencies. Through research and other partnerships foster regionally useful and relevant research and knowledge transfer.
Leveraging the strengths	Build local, regional and international linkages to support achievement of the Ballarat ICT 2030 goals. Work with State and Federal governments and the University to accelerate establishment of ICT spinout enterprises from the University and other organisations.
Raising the profile and demonstrating the value	Strengthen Ballarat's reputation by actively promoting and branding Ballarat as dynamic and vibrant ICT centre. Develop and implement measures to ensure the vision of Ballarat ICT 2030 is owned by the whole community.
Working together	Establish niche areas of focus and build 'laboratory' and 'test bed' activities. Identify opportunities for producing competitive advantages through widespread adoption of ICT across Ballarat’s major industry sectors.
Building critical mass and attracting investment	Continue to support the development and growth of the Ballarat ICT Cluster but develop policies to expand both its depth and breadth. Continue to encourage interaction between participants. Attract new ICT businesses to the Ballarat region.
Creating and accessing new knowledge	Facilitate new industry based research partnerships and programs. Identify and exploit ICT niche areas where Ballarat can achieve competitive advantage.
Giving something back	Foster innovation through projects which focus on the application of ICT to achieve social, environmental and sustainability goals. Ensure all Ballarat citizens are given the chance to participate in the connected ICT age.

The strategy takes a staged approach to the development of ICT in Ballarat. The first stage of the strategy includes two parts – enabling and strategic measures. Initially, the strategy concentrates on the strategic enablers which constitute the factors which are necessary, but not sufficient, to development of a dynamic ICT cluster. The second part is the development of the cluster through a number of strategies and actions that will provide Ballarat, not just with the foundations of a dynamic cluster, but with real difference and distinctiveness in the nature of what happens to ICT in Ballarat. The impact of Stage 2 will be to create a dynamic ICT Cluster in Ballarat by 2012. This is a Cluster, which will be export oriented, innovative and will serve as a benchmark for other regional clusters nationally and internationally.

The final stage is more speculative, but it involves building on the advantage of the dynamic ICT Cluster in 2012 and taking Ballarat forward to 2030 when the Cluster and the region are recognised for their strong international ICT presence, the rapid diffusion of new technologies and for state-of-the-art application of ICT in tourism, agriculture, manufacturing, health, education, and other leading industries.

ICT 2030 paints a picture of rapid and sometimes uncertain change. Ballarat has been fortunate to have had entrepreneurial and forward looking local leadership that has guided policy and action. This needs to be continued and reinforced. The road ahead is an exciting one, but Ballarat cannot take its early advantage for granted. Increasingly other regions and towns are seeing the opportunities for development from ICT. Whilst Ballarat will gain from this, it is also sometimes in competition with these locations. Through a mix of mobilising disparate resources, promoting collaboration, identifying trends and initiating action, Ballarat ICT can make a real difference. But we will have to run fast just to keep up, and faster and smarter to stay ahead.