Regional Development Australia Fund

The Regional Development Australia, Perth Committee was recently launched by Minister for Regional Development. Hon Simon Crean. This launch followed closely on the Minister announcing details of a $1.4 billion Regional Development Australia Fund that will boost economic development in the regions (including Metropolitan Perth). Only Councils and Not-for Profit community groups will be eligible, with applications for the first round having to be submitted by mid May.

Funding of between $500 000 and $25 Million is available for infrastructure projects which could be anything from a new Community Centre to a new Visitor Centre. To be eligible, project requests of over $5 Million will require partnership dollars on a 50:50 basis from other sources and partnerships between organisations are strongly encouraged for all applications. The $1.4 billion allocated to the Fund includes $350 million that has been set aside for disaster relief in regional communities.

Key criteria for the application funding guidelines include:

Delivery of concrete economic and social benefits

Commitment to innovation and building capacity in local communities

Linking regional communities across traditional boundaries

Ability to leverage additional funding across government and the private sector

It is expected that the next round will close in November 2011. Competition for these funds will be strong and only the applications that closely match the criteria and are supported by a strong business case will be successful. If you have a project that you think may be elligible but need to build a strong business case contact David Duncanson who will be able to take you through the application proceedure and explain how Kirkgate can assist in preparing your business case. David is a member of the Regional Development Australia, Perth Committee.

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Making events work for you

For many communities, large and small, festivals and events can play a major role in raising their profile, attracting additional people to the area and creating a sense of community. Events come in all shapes and sizes and the motivation for running them can range from gaining a financial return, to attracting tourists, to supporting the local community. It is this diversity of motivational factors that results in different approaches by differnet local governments with responsibility sometimes falling in the economic development and tourism area or the community development area and sometimes marketing.

The end result, in a lot of cases, is that there is a lack of direction and leadership, resulting in a reactionary approach where opportunities are lost.  This can be overcome by undertaking the development of an Events Strategy which should address the following issues:

• Analysis of current situation
• Council’s role in events
• Vision and aims
• Key partnerships
• Monitoring and evaluation
• Approvals process
• Promotion/sponsorship
 

David Duncanson is an expert in events strategy development having been in charge of the events team at the City of Fremantle. Contact David for a discussion on how to maximise your organisations effectiveness in events attraction, regulation, management and measurement. david@kirkgate.com.au

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Tourism signage

One of the biggest complaints of tourism operators is to do with public signage, not only how difficult it is to get appropriate signage approved but how existing signage can be outdated and just plain confusing. I came across an example of confusing signage the other day at the corner of Wanneroo Road and Joondalup Drive. Certainly confusing and not very informative. Tourism signage should direct, inform and should be located to give people time to react, unfortunately this is not always the case.The first thing for local governments to do is an audit of their tourism signage to determine whether changes are required and the extent of those changes. This should be a relatively straight forward task but is obviously dependent of the geographical area to be surveyed. To get a quote for a tourism signage audit of your area call David Duncanson on 0419 831 129 or e-mail david@kirkgate.com.au

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Wanneroo - more than a market Garden

One of the projects that I have been working on recently has been the development of a Tourism Strategy for the City of Wanneroo, which has been a really interesting exercise. My knowledge of Wanneroo was extremely limited prior to starting the project and I have been amazed by the diversity of undiscovered attractions that occurs in this one local government area.

The Wanneroo coastal strip from Mindarie up to Two rocks is experiencing tremendous growth and in comming years will accommodate thousands of new residences which will transform the area. Take a day trip to Yanchep and Two Rocks and experience this area before it changes beyond recognition. Yanchep lagoon is an absolute gem.  

The backbone of the area is Wanneroo Road from Marangarooo up to Yanchep National Park. This area has some tremendous wetlands (sadly drying up) and a history that is fascinating. Then moving further inland to the east there are the traditional market gardens which are always an interest to visitors. Certainly an area worth a day trip to rediscover some long forgotten treasures. 

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Tourism Awards

Its that time of year again when the Tourism Council launch the State Tourism Awards. This is always a good way for tourism businesses to get themselves noticed and this year there is a new category for Local Government. Many Local Governments devote considerbale resources to supporting touirsm which goes largely unrecognised, but this year they will have an opportunity to show what they have done. I have been asked to be a judge again this year which is a great honour and also really interesting as I get to meet many operators and learn about their businesses. Nominations open shortly and close on the 24th June. For further information visit the Tourism Council website at www.tourismcouncilwa.com.au

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