Food Innovation Australia Limited (FIAL) – the Food and Agribusiness Industry Growth Centre – has announced today that it is launching the Cluster Programme.
A first of its kind in Australia, this initiative encourages businesses to work together, align with public agencies and other institutions, for a common purpose to achieve a win-win outcome. The matched funding will support the formation of new clusters, or existing ones, to solve challenges and take advantage of exciting new market-opportunities.
Cluster success is well demonstrated across Europe and other countries, where FIAL’s Chairman, Mr Peter Schutz, travelled last year to learn first-hand about clusters.
“The Cluster Programme will make a real difference to our country – not only in specific regions but across our industry because it will highlight the benefits of co-operation and collaboration. A lot can be achieved when people work together,” said Schutz.
“For me, it’s about changing our mind-set and realising that the world is our oyster if we work together. The commercial and social benefits of clustering are evident throughout other parts of the world, let’s embrace these learnings, let’s adapt them to our context and let’s zoom out and focus on the world –our competition is overseas, not in our neighbours.
“This programme is the first step towards this direction and FIAL is proud to be launching it. I believe the programme can help clusters develop world-leading platforms for long-term, sustainable growth.”
Schutz’s insights and learnings have highlighted that clustering accelerates economic activity, productivity, innovative product development and new business formation.
FIAL is launching the Cluster Programme across Australia on the following dates:
- Hobart – Friday, 13 October 2017
- Melbourne – Tuesday, 17 October 2017
- Sydney – Friday, 20 October 2017
- Darwin – Monday, 23 October 2017
- Brisbane – Tuesday, 24 October 2017
- Perth – Monday, 30 October 2017
- Adelaide – Tuesday, 31 October 2017