You are invited to attend the Collaborative Ecosystems Summit in partnership with Food Innovation Australia Limited (FIAL), to discuss how collaborative ecosystems and Clusters can drive growth as we move towards 2030.

Join us for an action-packed two-day programme. Come and hear from collaboration and Cluster ecosystem leaders as they discuss their visions for the Australian landscape into 2030.

Join us to learn about the essential ingredients for building collaborative ecosystems and how this underpins the future growth opportunities for Australia. Two keynote speakers will share their insights, which will be followed by an industry panel and Q&A that will discuss their visions for Australia.

This session is hosted by TCO Oceania, a non-profit organisation that supports and advocates on behalf of Clusters and Cluster practitioners across Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Islands to develop a vibrant, inclusive innovation ecosystem across the Oceania region.

The event will be a seminar style with two keynotes followed by an industry leaders panel Q&A. The event will be held in person in Sydney followed by light lunch and networking opportunities.

Session one - 1st March 10am-1pm

Collaborative Ecosystems - shaping the future Australian landscape

Presenters

Emeritus Professor Roy Green

Dr Sam Bucolo

Special Innovation Adviser, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Enterprise), University of Technology Sydney

CEO, Australian Design Council

Roy Green is Chair of the Federal Government’s Innovative Regions Centre, CSIRO Manufacturing Sector Advisory Council and NSW Manufacturing Council. He is also a member of the ABS Innovation Technical Reference Group, IBSA National Project Reference Group, SA Training and Skills Commission, Public Sector Performance Commission and board of the Society for Knowledge Economics, and he recently completed a Review of the Textiles, Clothing and Footwear industries for the Federal Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research.

Dr Sam Bucolo is an Industrial Designer with 30 years spanning industry and academia. Sam is the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Design Council which aims to embed design as a critical enabler for a future diversified economy. Sam has held various executive roles, embedding design practices to transform organisations and sectors. Sam is the author of the book “Are We There Yet, Insights on how to lead by design”. Sam is an elected Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia and is a Good Design Australia Ambassador.

The Australian Food and Agribusiness Sector is highly fragmented. Businesses, researchers, and other stakeholders operate in a diverse, dynamic, and complex landscape. The value chain spans primary producers, manufacturers, and retail providers through to consumers. The sector is made up of two important components – Agriculture (pre-farm gate) and Food and Beverage or food manufacturing (post-farm gate). The agriculture sub-sector produces the raw commodity products for raw commodity markets, and critically, the inputs (or ingredients) for food and beverage manufacturing.

Today the sector contributes $69.7 billion of Gross Value Added to the national economy and employs over 530,000 people. Since inception, FIAL has been focusing on Clusters and how they can address this fragmentation. Clusters also enable the 98 per cent of the 176,000 businesses operating within the sector, who are SMEs, to work together – collaborate – to unlock value, create scale, and increase the sector’s global competitiveness. Collectively the Clusters through their reach across the country have the scope to realise the $200 billion sector potential.

During this session, hear from FIAL-supported Food and Agribusiness Clusters. They will share how they have been using the principles of Clusters as a way of bringing stakeholders together, igniting innovative thinking, and building the capabilities and capacity for transformation. Fruitful discussions on what has worked well, what they would do differently and how they are supercharging the competitiveness of Australia’s businesses, regions and the economy will be held throughout the sessions.