2021-12-13 General Committee Meeting Agenda

GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                              13 DECEMBER 2021


•    Collaborative and connected business Ecosystems are supported
•    Expanded and specialised education and research opportunities
•    Relevant and impactful support provided to our businesses
•    Returns from our natural assets with technology driving value
A three-tiered approach to monitoring and reporting will be adopted to track the health of the local
economy, progress towards strategic outcomes and the impact of economic development programs
and initiatives.
To increase focus and continue the conversation, an annual Economic Summit will be held to
activate dialogue and discussion on the state of the economy, stakeholder projects, progress of the
Economic Development Strategy and opportunities and challenges going forward.
This Economic Development Strategy will be reviewed and potentially refreshed every 3-5 years to
ensure flexibility, relevance and alignment with Council policies.
RECOMMENDATION
That Council note the Draft report by the Economic Development Advisor to the General Committee
Meeting dated 13 December 2021; and
A.     Adopt the Draft Economic Development Strategy 2021-2030; and
B.     Authorise the Chief Executive Officer to make any necessary amendments to the Economic
       Development Strategy in preparing and finalising the document for publication.


REPORT
1.   Background
The Local Economic Plan adopted by Council in 2016 has been reviewed and refreshed as it reached
the end of its five-year time frame.
Economic analysis and research was undertaken to identify challenges, opportunities and
community aspirations. Subsequently the strategy was developed with an eye to building a business
environment conducive to sustainable growth in line with community values that continues to look
beyond population and tourism driven sectors.
Core elements of previous Noosa Council Economic Strategies that resonate with the community
have been retained in this strategy including:
•     The desire to strive towards a more diversified and resilient local economy focused on
      knowledge-based and high-value sectors of the economy i.e. “value, not volume”.
•     Achieving growth in ‘smart’ industry sectors that have high economic value and at the same
      time have low environmental impact, where there is a competitive advantage.
•     Being globally connected and with a particular focus on products and services that can be
      exported.
•     An appreciation of, and commitment to maintaining, the quality of our natural assets as an
      underlying driver for much of the investment and economic activity in the Shire
However, the world has changed since the last strategy was adopted in 2016 and there are several
factors that have a significant influence on the economic environment, now and into the future: These
factors present both opportunities and challenges to the resilience of our economy and include:
•    Rapidly changing technology (Industry 4.0)
•    A highly mobile workforce
•    The unpredictable nature of COVID-19
•    The emerging challenges of talent, workforce availability, and accommodation shortages.
The rate of change calls for an unwavering focus on initiatives dedicated to ‘shifting the dial’ and
transitioning the Noosa economy to be sustainable and resilient, ready for any future.
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