Neil Jacobsen, GM, Regional Workforce Development and Strategy, Agrifood Skills Australia

Vicky Meyer, Policy and Products Coordinator, Business Development Unit, Health and Community Services Workforce Council

Co-presenter: Carmel Marshall, Diocesan Planning and Development Manager, Centacare Catholic Diocese of Rockhampton

Jenny Hoysted, Associate, Workforce Planning Australia

Co-presenter: Rowena Allen, Chair, Hume Workforce Development Committee, Local Government Victoria

Dr. Declan Kuch, Research Academic, Centre for Social Research in Energy and Resources, University of Newcastle

Helen Lewis, General Manager, Outback Highway Development Council Inc

Carol Redford, Senior Project Officer, Wheatbelt Development Commission and Heartlands WA

Co-presenter: Suzanne Woods, Chair, Heartlands WA Inc.

Dr. Rosalea Monacella, Associate Professor, Architecture & Design, RMIT University

Dr. Greg Picker, Associate Director – Environment, AECOM

Asha Titus, Research Academic, Centre for Social Research in Energy and Resources, University of Newcastle

Jillian Albrecht, Manager, Recognition and Pathways, Customer Support Services, The Hunter Institute of TAFE NSW

Co-presenter: Lisa Campbell, Project Officer for Higher Education, Recognition and Pathways Unit, The Hunter Institute of TAFE NSW

Jack Archer, General Manager, Research and Policy, Regional Australia Institute

Christine Doan, Founder, Sustainable Malanda

John Johnston, Managing Director, Pyksis Pty Ltd

Co-presenter: Mark Gustowski, Global Development Manager, Pyksis Pty Ltd

Dr. Susan Kinnear, Senior Research Officer, Centre for Environmental Management, CQ University Australia

Dr. Ashish Malik, Lecturer, Newcastle Business School, University of Newcastle

The Central Coast of NSW is one of ten designated areas under the Innovative Regions Centre initiative funded by Enterprise Connect. A pilot program has commenced to develop and nurture the Coast’s innovation champions under this initiative. This program is built on major research in the field of innovation management and is a great example of how universities can transfer knowledge and engage with local communities. This session will provide a comprehensive understanding of the program with results from the monitoring discussed by the Central Coast Research Foundation.

Chair

Dr. Anton Kriz, Senior Lecturer, Newcastle Business School, University of Newcastle [Presentation]

Panellists

- Courtney McGregor, PhD Student, University of Newcastle

- Caroline Veldhuizen, Senior Research Fellow, Central Coast Research Foundation [Presentation]

Successful regional development strategy requires steps beyond community agreement to words on paper. Implementation relies on leadership, empowerment, collaboration, and several innovative implementation brokers" to achieve a region united under one strategic plan. This workshop will present a number of case studies for discussion.

Chair

Peter Brown, Business Development Manager, NSW Trade & Investment, Central Coast [Presentation]

Speaker

Sean Weier, Team Manager, Parsons Brinckerhoff

Clusters in rural, regional and remote Australia face particular challenges. Drawing on the internationally acclaimed OBN, this conversation pit will look at the affiliation of host and partner organisations building collaboration and SME needs in a variety of regional circumstances.

Chair

Mike Crowe, Director, Desert Knowledge Australia Outback Business Networks

Panellists

- Hugh Gallagher, CEO, Kalgoorlie Boulder Chamber of Commerce and Industry

- Claire Wiseman, CEO, RDA Far North SA

The workshop will look at the role of government and the private sector in the development of Australian regional towns – planning for the future. What infrastructure do we need? What do we focus on? How do we get there?

Chair

Michael Campbell, Senior Consultant, AECgroup Limited [Presentation]

Panellists

- Lynette O’Reilly, GM SuperTowns, Department of Regional Development & Lands, Government of WA

- Mal Osborne, LGA CEO/RDA Chair, Local Government/RDA Network, Shire of Esperance/RDAGE WA [Presentation]

- Geoff Frost, Research Leader, DIT, Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics [Presentation]

Chair

Assoc. Prof. Geoff Cockfield, Deputy Dean, Faculty of Business, University of Southern Queensland

Panellists

- Su McCluskey, CEO, Regional Australia Institute

- Cr. Doug Eaton, Mayor, Wyong Shire Council

- Angus M Robinson, Chairman, Embedded Systems Australia

- Assoc Prof. Peter Waterman, SEGRA NSC, Managing Director, Environmental Managements Services Pty Ltd

- Cr Rod Macdonald, Portfolio for Economic Development and Planning, City of Greater Geelong

[Summary]

Chair

Peter Fryar, Manager, Development Services, Wyong Shire Council

Mike Clarke, Senior Development Officer, Agricultural Resource Risk Management, Northern Agricultural Region, Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia

Kelly-Anne Saffin, CEO RDA Yorke/Mid North

Co-presenter: Anita Crisp, Executive Officer, Central Local Governement Region of Councils, SA

Elizabeth Heagney, Senior Economist, Economics Services and Reform Section, NSW Office of Environment and Heritage

Co-presenter: Mladen Kovac, Chief Economist, Office of Environment and Heritage, Regulatory Economics Group

Chair

Michael Whittaker, General Manager, Wyong Shire Council

Glenn Cannard, Team Leader, Community and Cultural Development, Wyong Shire Council

Co-presenter: Julie Vaughan, Manager of Community and Cultural Development, Wyong Shire Council

Robert Prestipino, Director, Vital Places Pty Ltd [Presentation]

Alexandra Kriz, PhD Candidate, International Business, University of Sydney [Presentation]

Co-presenter: Dr. Anton Kriz, Senior Lecturer, Newcastle Business School, University of Newcastle

Chair

Rob Kitchen, Senior Development Manager, Central Coast Regional Development Corporation

Dr. Susan Kinnear, Senior Research Officer, Centre for Environmental Management, CQ University Australia

Caroline Robinson, Director, Solum; Wheatbelt Business Solutions

Margaret Goody, Director & HR Specialist, Akyra Strategy and Development

Chair

Peter Henderson, Environmental Management Services

Andrea Woods, Assistant Director, Rural and Regional Statistics National Centre, Australian Bureau of Statistics

Co-presenter: Juliet Hester, REDD Project Manager, Rural and Regional Statistics National Centre, Australian Bureau of Statistics

Bill Fish, Regional Planning Program Manager, Spatial Vision Innovations Pty Ltd

Michael Campbell, Senior Consultant, AECgroup Limited

Chair

Kate Charters, Convenor, SEGRA

Ms Marie-Chantale Pelletier, PhD Candidate, School of Environmental Science & Engineering, Southern Cross University

Co-author: Assoc. Prof. Caroline A Sullivan, School of Environmental Science & Engineering, Southern Cross University

Dr. Aharon Factor, Lecturer, Faculty of Higher Education, Swinburne University of Technology

OK... so you've got a great idea for a new invention, process or system to make the world sustainable but what do you do next? Be part of a conversation to learn from people who have gone before you and unlock the secret to their successes and the wisdom from their failures. This session will be appropriate no matter how 'advanced' you are in implementing sustainability solutions.

Chair

Ashley Bland, Sustainability Manager, Skillset, Bathurst NSW [Presentation]

Panellists

- Kelly Nunn-Clarke, Nu-Tech Energy Systems Pty. Ltd [Presentation]

- David Jacobs, Director, Nu-Tech Energy Systems Pty. Ltd

- Steven Hill, Consulting Energy Specialist, Nu-Tech Energy Systems Pty. Ltd

- Dr Gary Ellem, Project Manager – Future Industries, Tom Farrell Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Newcastle [Presentation]

The various trends, issues and new developments such as the roll-out of the NBN that will shape the success of regional enterprises are well described. How enterprises should respond is less clear. What this session will explore are the practical approaches and insights that can be applied by regional enterprises to build their capability to adapt to change in a strategic way. Panellists with a diversity of experience in helping enterprises achieve meaningful outcomes on the ground will share their learning and ideas with those of participants

Chair

Brian Ramsay, Managing Director, Inovact Consulting

Panellists

- Margaret Goody, Director & HR Specialist, Akyra Strategy and Development [Presentation]

- Glenn Cannard, Team Leader, Community and Cultural Development, Wyong Shire Council

- Belinda McRobie, Social Planner, Community and Cultural Development, Wyong Shire Council [Presentation]

Funding for local and regional development is variously dependent on the state of national, state and local economies, the political cycle and priorities and the profitability and community obligations of companies. This conversation will be about some ways of getting more from this uneven flow of funding and in particular, using regional and community foundations, or similar arrangements to coordinate and encourage funding from private and public sources. Participants will hear about developments in the US and some local experiences and will be invited to help develop the idea further for the Australian context.

Chair

Assoc. Prof. Geoff Cockfield, Deputy Dean, Faculty of Business, University of Southern Queensland [Presentation]

Panellists

- Paul Niederer, Chief Executive Officer, Australian Small Scale Offerings Board (ASSOB) [Presentation]

- Chris Pursehouse, State Community Strengthening Manager NSW, Bendigo Bank [Presentation]

Roy Morgan Research will run an interactive session answering questions from conference delegates from its continuous, nationwide business and consumer single source survey. This data enables a detailed understanding of business and consumer confidence, outlook, financial performance, technology adoption as well as social, political and environmental issues. Businesses can be profiled by region, size and industry classification etc. Consumers can be profiled by region, age, gender, income, education etc.

Chair

Geoffrey Smith, Sydney General Manager, Roy Morgan Research

Chair

Assoc. Prof. Geoff Cockfield, Deputy Dean, Faculty of Business, University of Southern Queensland

Panellists

- Cr. Lawrie McKinna, Mayor, Gosford Shire Council

- Ken Kipping AM, National Consumer Representative & Government Liason, MoTOURing Australia

- Prof. Daniela Stehlik, Chair of RIRDC and Professor of Sociology at Charles Darwin University

- Cassandra Stipanicev, NSC SEGRA, Manager Business Development, Shire of Cranbrook WA

- The Department of Regional Australia, Local Government and the Arts (speaker to be advised)

[Summary]

- Dr. Susan Kinnear, Senior Research Officer, Centre for Environmental Management, CQ University Australia

- Prof. Daniela Stehlik, Chair of RIRDC and Professor of Sociology at Charles Darwin University

[Presentation]