How do regions think about an economic development ‘positioning strategy’?

I had the pleasure of meeting Rod Brown of Clusters Asia Pacific http://www.capinc.com.au/ when he spoke at a Montana Economic Focus Gathering a few years ago. I’m thrilled that he’s now connected with Jack Schultz, author or BoomTown USA http://boomtowninstitute.com/ . Here’s a letter that Rod has sent to Jack about economic development focus. I hope this encourages further discussion. Please add your comments or share them through the Economic Gardening Listserve (it’s an outstanding discussion group). I hope that the Economic Gardening Listserve group http://littletongov.org/bia/economicgardening/econdev.asp will share their comments with Rod and Jack. Collaboration and the sharing of best practices is a key to success.
Best,
Russ

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Hi Jack and friends

I am a long-time reader of Agurban http://boomtowninstitute.com/html/Agurban/index.html, and run a regional network of ED professionals here in Australia.

Last month I was addressing a local government conference in Tasmania (home of Errol Flynn, Princess Mary of Denmark and the Tassie Devil). My core message was that regions should think about a ‘positioning strategy’ – just as businesses do – and the creation of a strategic architecture that helps firms capture or create business opportunities. This architecture is a unique combination of physical infrastructure, technologies, core competencies and human capital that can take advantage of a business or trade opportunity.

Well, I got to thinking that Tasmania is a nice compact region, with an excellent brand and credentials in environmental management, a former track record in manufacturing, and the need for value-adding niche industries. I posed the question – could Tasmania develop a strong adventure and leisure industries agenda?

Let me explain. There are three major adventure chains in Australia – Paddy Palin, Khatmandu and Mountain Designs. Three years ago, I browsed around the latter’s Launceston (Tasmania) outlet and asked the manager if there were any Tasmanian products in stock – he could only point to packets of beef jerky. But the shelves were full of high value, foreign and interstate product lines:

Hiking boots and thermal clothing – Europe, USA.

Hiking and camping cooking utensils – France, Switzerland

Specialist measuring and optical equipment – Switzerland, Germany, Japan.

Energy food and drink – New Zealand, Queensland, NSW and Victoria.

Kayaks and small, specialist boats – New Zealand.

Fishing equipment – Japan, RO Korea, Taiwan, China.

The prevailing view seems to be that Tasmania, and indeed Australia, cannot compete against cheap imports in these industries. Well I don’t buy that, and it hasn’t stopped parts of USA and NZ developing a strong presence in adventure products. Indeed, I was in Billings Montana recently where they too are keen to leverage off their mystique and frontier image, and thereby build economic capacity in the ‘adventure’ industry.

Do any of Jack’s readers have any insights in this field? Surely regional towns are well-placed to do smart things in the adventure value-adding, as part of a strong regional brand. Dirty, unfriendly cities should be legislated out of this! Seriously though, would any of you be interested in a cross-country dialogue on what initiatives can be taken to trigger the sustainable growth of regional businesses in this field? We would like to get a real dialogue going on this issue.

Look forward to hearing you, folk. Keep up the great work, Jack!

Rod Brown (The Cockatoo Group), Canberra, Australia [email protected]