OECD reviews of higher education in regional and city development, State of Victoria, Australia

With more than 5.3 million inhabitants Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Once a manufacturing economy, Victoria is now transforming itself into a service and innovation-based economy. Currently, the largest sectors are education services and tourism. In terms of social structure, Victoria is characterised by a large migrant population, 24% of population were born overseas and 44% were either born overseas or have a parent who was born overseas. About 70% of the population resides in Melbourne. Victoria faces a number of challenges, ranging from an ageing population and skills shortages to drought and climate change and increased risk of natural disasters. Rapid population growth, 2% annually, has implications for service delivery and uneven development as well as regional disparities. There are barriers to connectivity in terms of transport and infrastructure, and a high degree of inter-institutional competition in tertiary education sector. The business structure in Victoria includes some highly innovative activities such as in biotechnology, but other sectors, especially those with high number of small and medium-sized enterprises, are lagging behind. Most of the larger manufacturing enterprises are externally controlled and there is uncertainty over the long term investments they will make in the state, as well as the place of Victoria in the global production networks

Making culture count: rethinking measures of cultural vitality, wellbeing and citizenship

In May 2012 the Cultural Development Network and the University of Melbourne, Centre for Cultural Partnerships presented the Making Culture Count Conference with support from VicHealth and the University of Melbourne. This is the final report for the conference. The Making Culture Count Conference sought to answer the questions about how we measure our activities in a cultural context, how cultural indicators sat alongside economic, social and environmental measures support sustainable development, wellbeing, heritage and diversity; and what role cultural indicators played in globalisation and distinctiveness. It focussed on new trends in cultural measurement practice seeking to challenge existing ways of thinking, and explored the potential of cultural indicators on contemporary governance and public policy. &nbsp

Reinventing the regions: Victoria’s changing regional economies

Regional Victoria accounts for around a quarter of the State\u27s population and economic output. In March 2013 Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional and Rural Development Peter Ryan released the Reinventing the Regions report which documents the findings from a series of events held in 2011-2012 which CEDA, in collaboration with RDV, hosted. This report provides an overview of the changes taking place in five of Victoria\u27s regional economies, key policy and economic themes that emerged from discussions throughout the series of events, case studies from regional businesses and five individual event summaries. The event series provided an opportunity to engage key stakeholders including business, industry, government, communities and academia in a discussion of: The key economic drivers and prospects for growth; Challenges faced by businesses across five regions; How regional businesses are adapting to evolving economic conditions; and How they can capitalise on new opportunities. The series consisted of five events looking at the experiences of Ballarat and the Central Highlands, Hume,Geelong and Barwon South West, Loddon Mallee and the Latrobe Valley. This publication is a joint project of CEDA and Regional Development Victoria. &nbsp

Creating new stories for praxis: navigations, narrations, neonarratives

This paper considers differing understandings about the role and praxis of studio-based research in the visual arts. This is my attempt to unpack this nexus and place it in a context of credibility for our field. Jill Kinnear (2000) makes the point that visual research deals with and intensifies elements of research and language that have always been part of the practice of an artist. Presented is a way to conceptualise and explain what we can do as researchers in the visual arts. I am recontextualizing notions of research, looking at the resemblances, the self-resemblances and the differences between traditional and visual research methods as a logic of necessity. I am investigating how we can decode and recode what we do in the language of appropriation and bricolage. In mapping the processes and territories, I am interested in the use of autobiography as a way to incorporate a deep sense of the intricate relationships of the meaning and actions of artistic practice and its embeddedness in cultural influences, personal experience and aspirations (Hawke 1996:35). This is a study that explores possible parameters for visual research, questioning in what sense is it the best way to understand our relationship with traditional research fields

Challenges and opportunities to develop a smart city: A case study of Gold Coast, Australia

With the rapid growth of information and communication technologies, there is a growing interest in developing smart cities with a focus on the knowledge economy, use of sensors and mobile technologies to plan and manage cities. The proponents argue that these emerging technologies have potential application in efficiently managing the environment and infrastructure, promoting economic development and actively engaging the public, thus contributing to building safe, healthy, sustainable and resilient cities. However, are there other important elements in addition to technologies which can contribute to the creation of smart cities? What are some of the challenges and opportunities for developing a smart city? This paper aims to answer these questions by developing a conceptual framework for smart cities. The framework is then applied to the city of Gold Coast to identify challenges and opportunities for developing the city into a ‘smart city’. Gold Coast is a popular tourist city of about 600,000 populations in South East Queensland, Australia, at the southern end of the 240km long coastal conurbation that is centred by Brisbane. Recently, IBM has nominated Gold Coast as one of the three cities in Australia for its Smarter Cities Challenge Grant. The grant will provide the Gold Coast City Council with the opportunity to collaborate with a group of experts from IBM to develop strategies for enhancing its ICT arrangements for disaster response capabilities. Gold Coast, meanwhile, has potential to diversify its economy from being centred on tourism to a knowledge economy with focus on its educational institutions, investments in cultural precincts and high quality lifestyle amenities. These provide a unique opportunity for building Gold Coast as an important smart city in the region. As part of the research methodology, the paper will review relevant policies of the council. Finally, lessons will be drawn from the case study for other cities which seek to establish themselves as smart cities

Jobs4Kids: Networking and learning for youth within one regional economy in Victoria, Australia

In this paper I present some of the insights generated by ethnographic longitudinal research into regional learning networks focused on education, training and employment for youth that were instituted by the State government of Victoria, Australia from 2001 onwards. The research, funded by the Australian Research Council Linkage Project, was completed by a team of researchers at Deakin University working in partnership with one of the networks: the Smart Geelong Region Local Learning and Employment Network (SGR LLEN). In this paper I will undertake a number of tasks. Given the remoteness of the research context I will provide a — necessarily limited — overview of both the geographical and policy context before outlining what a Local Learning and Employment Network (LLEN) is, and does. I then move to outline the establishment of an Employer Reference Group (ERG) as a key strategy of the SGR LLEN . The paper closes with a synopsis of the research findings in regard to the possibilities within, and limitations around, a policy focus on networking and collaboration

Intercultural harmony and understanding in the city of Whittlesea

The City of Whittlesea is one of the most ethnically diverse urban areas in Melbourne that attracts settlers, often humanitarian migrants from countries in the Horn of Africa and the Middle East. With settlers arriving from a broader range of countries than ever before, increasing ethnic as well as ethno-religious diversity presents opportunities for local government to address intercultural harmony and understanding but also significant challenges. This paper reports the findings of fieldwork conducted in 2009 among residents focusing on attitudes towards ethnic diversity and evaluations of the capacity of local government to promote intercultural harmony and understanding. The results suggest that if local government is to be inclusive and gain the confidence and trust of residents necessary to foster empowering partnerships, political spaces that facilitate interactions between long-term residents, new residents, elected leaders and council officers must be facilitated. Such initiatives will contribute to strengthening programs and policies being developed by local government that aim to address discrimination experienced by ethnic minorities and encourage greater acceptance of cultural diversity among the broader community in ways that move beyond measurable outcomes