globalbop in Tauranga

Last night, I attended a meeting organised by globalbop, a joint initiative set up by the Tauranga Incubator and the Export Capability Projects.

The basic background as spelled out by the organisers was that the two organisations had joined forces to capitalise on the Export Led Economy by driving change and creating opportunity. Five key programs were identified as driving this:

1. Cluster Growth and Development
2. BOP Leadership Forum
3. Circle of Innovation (Incubation)
4. BOP Regional Framework (including Education and Training)
5. Measurement of resulting Economic Outputs.

The main presentation was given by ex-EDS Knowledge Management guru, Dr Donna Stemmer. Formerly based out of Texas and now out of Tauranga (they both have a capital 'T' in common), Donna gave a very effective presentation that covered off the key points identified in the initiative. It was the discussion that followed though that summed up in some way the concept that is 'economic development' in New Zealand.

For a country of its size, New Zealand has an awful lot of stakeholders in the business of assisting others in business. What differentiates these stakeholders from say, the UK, is that their governance is not always standard. Consider EDA's. Priority One, which is the Western Bay of Plenty EDA, has a very different governance structure to Positively Wellington Business or Enterprising Manukau. The same applies to Chambers of Commerce. Tauranga Chamber of Commerce has a strong presence with an experienced, professional staff. Other Chambers are manned or led by a part-time CEO together with his / her dog.

The upshot is that there is no standard agenda or programme for economic development at the local level. Some initiatives are led by the EDA, others by the local Council and others by a mix of the two, the three, the four etc.....

What last nights Q & A revealed was less a disagreement about the ideas and agenda of globalbop, more a discussion of where this sits within the scope of existing stakeholder initiatives in Tauranga and the wider Bay of Plenty region. globalbop's biggest challenge is not going to win support for its initiatives. Its biggest challenge is going to be able to build an integrated platform which reflects and manages the interests of the many other stakeholders which exist in the Bay to support and deliver on those initiatives.