Australian tour of innovation ecosystems, 2018-2019

• How are our entrepreneurs and innovators best supported across Australia?
• What are some of the unique opportunities and challenges experienced by entrepreneurs in major city centres, rural regions, and remote communities?
• And who is involved and doing it well, from local government, universities, the local business community, major corporations, investment and finance groups, high schools, coworking spaces and innovation hubs?

 From October 2018, these questions and others will be taken to the road on a national tour of over 60 innovation regions over ten months. The tour ties into PhD research, which focuses on the role that innovation hubs play in building resilience, particularly in regional communities. The tour is part of an ongoing process to map and measure the innovation ecosystem in Australia.

I’m going to meet some incredible people, document and capture the journey along the way through video and posts, and share lessons to help those who support entrepreneurs across Australia.

I am aiming to achieve three outcomes from the tour:

1. Contribute to practical academic rigour behind policy, programs, and practice of building innovation ecosystems.
2. Raise the profile of exceptional examples of communities across Australia that are supporting entrepreneurial growth.
3. Change happens as soon as you ask the question. Simply by engaging and connecting with key leaders in the regions, we will improve capability and capacity in local innovation ecosystems.

I would love for you to be involved!

• First, I’ve mapped out places and spaces to visit. I can only get to so many places, but if there’s something happening in a location I really need to get to or someone in your region I need to speak with, let us know.
• Second, I’m going to be doing hundreds of interviews with entrepreneurs and those who support entrepreneurs. What would be one question you would want to ask, or concept you would like to test? Let me know.
• Finally, I really want to get to know the people who are making a difference. There’s a spare seat in the car for chats as I travel from region to region, and I want to help out where possible through events when I am in town to really get to know the communities. Let me know if you want to tag along and share a meal.

Drop me a line to be involved at chad@startupstatus.co.