Establishing and existing clusters are, under the current Victorian Government's Regional Innovation Clusters Program, generally able to secure grants per cluster on a dollar for dollar basis. The City of Ballarat has indicated financial and in-kind support is available for continued cluster development. Assuming continued funding support for the development of the Ballarat ICT cluster can be secured, and based on consultation with the Ballarat ICT cluster stakeholders, the following cluster development priority actions were identified:
- Develop engagement program for Ballarat ICT cluster stakeholders
- Develop a business intelligence service for the Ballarat ICT cluster
- Develop a comprehensive marketing plan for Ballarat ICT cluster
- Develop ICT Demonstration Projects
- Undertake professional development for Ballarat ICT cluster members
- Support export oriented and export active firms
Proposed priority activities/projects (with possible cross-over between initiatives) include:
1. Engagement program for the Ballarat ICT cluster
- Increase the quantity and quality of inter-firm linkages and alliances
- Newsletters, networks, forums, website
- Think tanks
- Actively identifying business collaboration opportunities
- Build on existing networking activities
- Encourage industry participation in cluster activities
- Strategies for engaging new entrants
2. Business intelligence service for the ICT cluster
- Listening forum – supply side/demand side incorporating educational institutions
- Progressively build cluster data and intelligence (e.g. media monitoring, market research, think tank)
- Dissemination of intelligence including response recommendations (e.g., tender notification services, industry trends and issues, product development opportunities)
- Engage with individual members and cluster groups to see how growth can occur
- Build strategic links – small and large firms; education, government and industry; international (e.g. India)
- Provide consultative services to assist with the development of feasibility studies.
3. Marketing Ballarat ICT
- Educate local, domestic and international markets about the Ballarat ICT Cluster and its capabilities
- Publicising case studies of success stories within the local ICT industry
- Promotion of www.ballaratict.com
- Development of testimonials
- Local trade shows/expo
- Industry awards
- Career fairs
- Employee/business attraction
- Identify opportunities for collaborative marketing
4. ICT Demonstration Projects
- Facilitate interaction between large and small organisations through one or more pilot projects (e.g. commercialisation of established IP)
- Working with non-ICT firms to apply ICT within their business
- Foster research partnerships between Ballarat ICT firms and universities or other research institutions
- Accelerating workforce integration through industry and university partnerships
5. Professional development for Ballarat ICT
- Incorporating workshops, seminars and forums responding to areas of identified need, including:
- Marketing
- Technical skills
- Project management
- Business development
- Export development
- New technology directions
6. Support export oriented and export active firms
- Profile current export success within the Ballarat ICT Cluster
- Link current and potential exporters with State and Federal support programs
- Foster communities of interest and active sub-clusters (e.g. export oriented and export active firms)
In discussing how to best optimise the comprehensive list of priorities with the Ballarat ICT Steering Committee on 1 March 2006, it was clear that the engagement process, a business intelligence service and a comprehensive marketing plan for the Ballarat ICT cluster were the prime strategic drivers. Therefore,
- Develop engagement program for Ballarat ICT cluster stakeholders;
- Develop a business intelligence service for the Ballarat ICT cluster; and
- Develop and implement a comprehensive marketing strategy for Ballarat ICT cluster
formed the core platform for the further development of the Ballarat ICT cluster and
- Develop ICT Demonstration Projects;
- Undertake professional development for Ballarat ICT cluster members; and
- Support export oriented and export active firms
were specific tasks that could be undertaken to build on that platform.
It was further proposed that real engagement was likely to come from offering business intelligence services that would be meaningful to firms, which might include services such as access to cluster facilitator; centralised services and database (with login via the www.ballaratict.com website); collective marketing; networking events; skills development; collaborative tender bids, etc., but also potentially offer skills development and growth services such as how to tender; how to approach a new firm; how to attract skilled labour to the region; how to engage with government; mentoring services, etc. It was also proposed that initially some small and fast projects are needed which produce hard outcomes that can be built upon.
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