A cluster is typically a geographically bounded concentration of similar, related or complementary businesses with active channels for business transactions, communication and dialogue that share specialised infrastructure, labour markets and services and that face common opportunities and threats. Clusters have been acknowledged as a potentially effective mechanism for enhancing regional competitive advantage. Various policy statements have noted how clusters can make a substantial contribution to Victoria's economy (Ammirato et al. 2003) by:
- Encouraging the development of skills.
- Facilitating the creation and commercialisation of ideas and knowledge.
- Building a competitive, innovative and connected economy.
- Harnessing overlapping strengths and generating opportunities to boost the international competitiveness of related businesses.
- Helping to create the critical mass necessary for productivity gains and infrastructure development.
- Helping attract a skilled pool of labour.
During 2004 the Victorian Government launched its three-year $2.9 million Regional Innovation Clusters Program. The aim of this program is to develop and strengthen regional clusters building on existing strengths in key sectors such as food and agriculture, health, manufacturing, biotechnology and ICT. Support is being provided for the development of approaches which identify actual and potential clusters and promote their formation, operation and expansion.
The City of Ballarat was successful in securing funding through this program. The University of Ballarat was subsequently engaged to conduct the first comprehensive study of the Ballarat Information and Communications (ICT) cluster. This study was undertaken in three stages. Further information on each of these stages is provided below.
1.2 Consultancy activities
The University of Ballarat has undertaken research to explore and identify the economic role that an ICT cluster may have on the Ballarat region. Researchers have also assisted key stakeholders in identifying how regional ICT activities can be underpinned with appropriate support.
Phase 1 activities focused on conducting research with Ballarat's ICT firms, to identify their capabilities, size, relationships and needs. Information was also gathered from Ballarat's 'traditional' business community to discover trends in areas such as current utilisation of ICT, relationships with local firms and to identify any evident needs and/or opportunities for generating ICT synergies within and between different industries (see the Ballarat ICT Cluster Profile Study report for further information).
This report presents the Phase 2 outputs of the Ballarat ICT Cluster Consultancy. The key objective of this stage is the development of an Organisational Plan for the Ballarat ICT cluster. The Organisational Plan incorporates the Cluster vision; governance arrangements; priority actions; communications strategies; performance criteria and explores options for monitoring and evaluation.
Phase 3 activities relate to the establishment and progressive development of a cluster management and communication system. Initial services have been launched and are being progressively expanded. To access these services visit www.ballaratict.com.
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