KEY POINTS
- Launched on 21 May 2008, the Enterprise Connect network is a central plank of the Government’s Innovation Future for Australian Industry policy platform.
- The Government provides funding of around $50 million a year to Enterprise Connect which provides Australia's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with access to the best advice, technology and research, and links firms to resources in their immediate region and around the country.
- Enterprise Connect directly services SMEs through its national network of more than 90 skilled and experienced Business Advisers.
- Business Advisers are are able to draw on a permanent, readily accessible and truly national knowledge bank – a storehouse of information about what research is being done, what research SMEs need, what trends are developing, what technologies are available to meet those trends, and much, much more.
- Six manufacturing centres have been established as hubs of expertise. Manufacturing Centres in Mawson Lakes South Australia, Dandenong Victoria, Burnie Tasmania, North Ryde New South Wales, Perth Western Australia and Eight Mile Plains Queensland have been launched.
- Six Innovation Centres manage a national network of specialist Business Advisers and have hubs located as follows: the Innovative Regions Centre in Geelong, Victoria; the Remote Enterprise Centre in Alice Springs, Northern Territory; Creative Industries Innovation Centre in Sydney, New South Wales; Clean Energy Innovation Centre in Newcastle, New South Wales; Mining Technology Innovation Centre in Mackay, Queensland; and the Defence Industry Innovation Centre in Dandenong, Victoria.
FACTS AND FIGURES
The twelve Enterprise Connect centres around the nation help businesses succeed and help create high wage, high skilled jobs now and for the future, adding significant new capacity to the national innovation system.
Enterprise Connect provides Australia's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with access to the best advice, technology and research. The centres offer top quality business and management advisory services.
One of the biggest challenges facing SMEs is having the time and know-how to implement innovative changes in their business. Enterprise Connect addresses these challenges by connecting businesses to new ideas and technologies to boost productivity and increase international competitiveness.
Enterprise Connect links firms to resources in their immediate region and around the country. Each centre is in constant communication with the other centres, and the network as a whole is in constant communication with other networks – whether through partner organisations, state governments, the Industry Capability Network, Austrade or others.
At 31 January 2010, 2,235 firms have had their application for aBusiness Review approved, with 1,770 having been completed. and 735 firms proceeding to the second stage of the program, the Tailored Advisory Service (TAS). TAS provides up to $20,000 to assist firms implement changes identified through the Business Review process. In addition, firms receive mentoring and support for up to twelve months.
Centres may also help organise placement of university researchers within SMEs under the 'Researchers in Business' initiative. Enterprise Connect also runs the workshops, Industry Intelligence and Networking programme, to help SMEs network within the sector, and the Technology and Knowledge Connect service, to provide a referral service linking firms to experts from research organisations or industry.
Enterprise Connect is helping at least 3,000 firms a year.
RECENT ACTIVITIES
In November 2009, Enterprise Connect achieved a significant milestone having approved its 2,000th client for a comprehensive Business Review provided at no cost to clients, furthering its objective of assisting Australian business to become more innovative, productive and competitive.
Enterprise Connect has obtained strong results from a range of complementary services to help SMEs. These include:
Researchers in Business: This initiative funds the placement of an expert from a university or other research institution to work with businesses to develop new, cutting-edge products for market. It provides a dollar-for-dollar grant of up to $50,000, with 17 placements having been approved under the initiative so far.
Technology and Knowledge Connect (TKC): Participating businesses have access to the knowledge and expertise of the entire business advisory network, which has the potential to open up opportunities they may never have considered. The TKC service as of 15 February 2010 has assisted 141 small and medium enterprises with technology and technical knowledge constraints.
Technology Partnerships: Technology Partnerships is a new service that has been established to link firms owning highly specialised but underutilised technology or equipment with other businesses that may be able to use it, thereby increasing productivity and revenue in a mutually beneficial arrangement.
Firms with specialised equipment receive $3,000 as a sign-on fee to be listed and $2,000 is available to subsidise the first use of the equipment. Fifteen businesses have registered 28 pieces of equipment under Technology Partnerships to date.
Textile, Clothing, Footwear (TCF) Innovation Network: The TCF Innovation Network will support collaboration between companies and between industry, researchers and educational institutions. It aims to assist TCF industries to become more innovative and globally competitive by creating a network where they can readily access industry information, share knowledge, connect with other firms, and link to cutting edge research and emerging technologies.
Technology Road Maps: Enterprise Connect has engaged CSIRO to undertake a number of Technology Road Maps in specific industry sectors (i.e. Food, Mining Automation, Titanium, Energy Efficiency in Buildings, and TCF).
Workshops, Industry Intelligence and Networking (WIIN): More than $300,000 was made available for eleven projects under the first round of the WIIN program this year to help organisations conduct seminars and other forums which raise awareness among SMEs of innovations, technologies, expertise and best practice relevant to their business.
Supported workshops and seminars covered issues such as strategic planning, best practice family business, networking and sustainability.
The second round of WIIN was announced on 1 February and will close on 12 March 2010.
Innovative Region Facilitators
Launched on 21 August 2008, the Innovative Regions Centre (IRC) is headquartered at Deakin University's Waurn Ponds campus in Geelong, and operates in specified regions across Australia. Its role is to support initiatives such as business clusters and networks, to build stronger connections between local businesses and the industrial base, universities and training institutions.
The IRC is now established and operations are well under way in the first two of the declared regions:
• Geelong – incorporating the Local Government Authorities (LGA) of City of Greater Geelong, Borough of Queenscliffe, and Golden Plains, Surf Coast and Colac Otway Shires.
• Northern Adelaide – incorporating the LGAs of the Cities of Playford, Salisbury and Port Adelaide – Enfield, and the Town of Gawler.
The Innovative Region Facilitators for these two regions commenced during August 2009.
On 11 December 2009, Minister Carr announced an extension of Enterprise Connect’s Innovative Regions Centre operations into eight more regions:
• NSW: three placements, in the Illawarra, Central Coast and Lithgow regions.
• QLD: two placements, in North Brisbane – Moreton Bay and Central Queensland.
• WA: one placement covering the Perth South West Corridor.
• VIC: one placement covering the Greater Victorian Goldfields.
• TAS: one placement covering Northern Tasmania.
Innovative Region Facilitators for this second tranche of regions have now all commenced work in their regions.