Establishment of an initiative to strengthen innovation links between Darwin and Alice Springs
In October 2018, the Department of Trade, Business and Innovation (DTBI) employed a project officer, based full-time in Alice Springs, to support and champion innovation in Central Australia.
DTBI is continuing to seek opportunities to collaborate with ecosystem partners to foster and intensify business innovation in the Central Australian region. Ecosystem partners that have a presence in Alice Springs include the Chamber of Commerce NT, the Central Australia Development Office, ICNNT and Desert Knowledge Australia.
Desert Knowledge Australia (DKA) and the Darwin Innovation Hub (DIH) are working together to develop a regional incubator at the Desert Knowledge Precinct in Alice Springs. There is an existing significant innovation presence and facility at DKA's Desert Knowledge Precinct that creates the broader innovation environment necessary for the establishment of an incubator in Alice Springs.
Experts in the areas of digital innovation, skills and capacity building, business and regional development were invited to a workshop in May 2019 to map the next steps in developing the incubator. A diverse range of the organisations were represented at the workshop including:
- CSIRO
- Central Land Council
- Indigenous Community Volunteers
- Uber Air
- AusIndustry
- iAccelerate
- Charles Darwin University
- Department of Trade, Business and Innovation
- DKA's Precinct partners Batchelor Institute for Indigenous Tertiary Education and the Centre for Appropriate Technology.
DKA, DIH and the Northern Territory Government are using the insights generated by the workshop to develop models for the incubator.
Ecosystem partners:
- Department of Trade, Business and Innovation
- Darwin Innovation Hub
- Desert Knowledge Australia.