Wake Up Bay Of Plenty!

It's getting bigger...

I have just spent 48 hours in Raglan. The bach had no Sky, no internet access. It was a weekend of firsts.

It was the first time I had read the Waikato Times. An article on the front page of the 'Business' section caught my eye. Headed Extra Innovation, the article said that the Waikato Innovation Park will triple in size over the next three years thanks to NZ$8 million in grants.

According to the article, the Economic Development Ministry has stumped up with $NZ4 million from the Enterprise Partnership Funds, NZ$2.4 million has been provided by Hamilton City Council and the remaining NZ$1.6 million has come from Innovation Waikato Limited. The investment will be used to build and develop a new building, provide infrastructure to attract more multi-national companies and to expand the Innovation Park's business development services.

I have spent a lot of time in Hamilton in recent months and have blogged about the benefits that such a Park can have in terms of both adding value to the private sector and assisting accelerate regional economic development.

The drive and ambition in Hamilton stands in stark contrast to the current status quo on my side of the Kaimais. The fact that Hamilton is home to the University of Waikato is clearly a major factor in the positioning of the Waikato Innovation Park. It is the status quo though the Bay Of Plenty needs to address.

Last week, I attended the Bay of Plenty Regional Economic Development Forum in Rotorua. The Forum was presented with a series of questions designed to map a 10-year strategy for boosting regional economic development. Ten years? Call me a sceptic but I guess that the economic landscape will have changed a tad by then. In the larger central north island macro-economic region, the expansion of the Waikato Innovation Park will surely generate some of this change. With its focus on fostering collaborative R&D between the tertiary and the private sectors, Hamilton will continue to attract high value businesses.

Realistically, the Bay of Plenty is NOT going to secure its own University any time soon. It is therefore important that the Bay Of Plenty's key business, local government and Iwi stakeholders engage directly with external research institutes such as the University of Waikato to attract their active presence in the greater Bay.

This engagement will lead to the fostering of a new awareness of value added R&D and assist promote the Bay as a destination for inward investment. Both are necessary if the mission of the Bay of Plenty Regional Economic Development Forum is to be achieved.