2019-08-06 Services & Organisation Committee Agenda

SERVICES & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                  6 AUGUST 2019



Indicator          Measure                       Update

Investment –       Value of investment           $2.2m committed by Australian Government for
regional           attracted via grants/etc      next stage development of Rufous Street (and
                                                 Digital Hub)
                                                 $75k grant secured from Advance Queensland

Investment –       Value of direct business      Too early to measure
business           investment from grants or
                   private investors


9. REVIEW OF OPERATIONAL MODEL

In December 2017, Council agreed to move forward with a Council-facilitated model, and that the
success and impact of this type of operating structure would be assessed following 18 months of
operation.

After 12 months of operation, it is clear that the current operating structure is critical to the
success of the Hub and the broader digital ecosystem. The commercial viability of the Hub is
tightly coupled to the health of Noosa’s digital ecosystem. Without a strong base of technology
entrepreneurs and digital businesses, there will be insufficient demand to sustain the Hub’s
facilities and services.

Noosa’s digital sector is still in its early stages of development and requires significant economic
development support to reach critical mass and contribute to the economic diversification
objectives set out in the LEP. Whilst the Hub is a vital piece of infrastructure for housing digital
businesses, it must be coupled with a broader capacity-building program to attract, support and
develop the talent that will ultimately constitute a viable digital sector.

This capacity-building work requires a public service approach and it is highly unlikely to happen
in a privately-operated situation where the Hub’s function would be purely commercial. A council-
facilitated model with a highly talented Director with the scope to operate independently and
innovatively is a model that both ensures strategic alignment with Council’s LEP yet responds in
an agile way to the needs of the industry as well as individual businesses.

Client satisfaction amongst the tenants, members and partners of the Hub is high and is being
attributed to the positive culture of collaboration fostered and the curated approach that Council
has taken. It would be considered prudent for Council to provide certainty to the businesses,
mentors and partners that are locating themselves at the Hub, not because of the bricks and
mortar, but because of the model and approach being taken.

Furthermore, under the current operating model, the Hub has exceeded its year one financial
objectives and its public service achievements have significantly surpassed expectations. There
is a strong pipeline of interest from prospective new members and the forward trajectory looks
positive.

It is therefore proposed that Council supports the continuation of the current model for a further 3
years, led by the Digital Hub Director.




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