Kleinhardt Industry Clusters Facilitation & Planning

The pace of change, technology, connectivity globally and global competition are all factors that make it more difficult for individual firms to compete in their marketplace.

Collaboration between competitors, across institutions, components of the industry demand chain and indeed across industry sectors has been globally found to be an effective way of competing more effectively in the contemporary world environment.

It has been recognised that global competition these days is more about regions competing with regions, rather than country to country, of firm against firm. Competitive advantage is created from blending the assets and core competencies a region possesses in innovative ways. One firm cannot do this alone.

This has led to the description of these collaborative systems as 'industry clusters'. These collaborative regional systems have existed for centuries, but have only been studied in their advantages described above since around 1990.

In an age of the 'knowledge economy', it is how knowledge is harnessed that makes the difference. At the heart of these collaborative systems is the quality and frequency of personal interactions. These lead to intuitive, second order learning and have been found to be what leads to innovation, new ideas and new and improved products and services.

Cairns was chosen by the Queensland Government some 10 years ago as an experiment in development of industry clusters. This experiment has been highly successful and Kleinhardt has been involved from the outset. The firm is now recognised internationally for its expertise in being able to identify potential clusters and facilitate their development.

This requires a blend of knowledge encompassing business principles, regional economies, learning theory, group dynamics, advanced workshop techniques, human motivation and practical experience.

For specific information or to make an appointment please contact us on (07) 4040 7100 or send an email to prosper@kleinhardt.com.au. Your first meeting with us is obligation free.

Industry Clusters Facilitation Case Studies

1. Kleinhardt facilitated and coordinated the marine park operators under one organisation - Australian Marine Park Tour Operators' Association (AMPTOA). This brought together disparate industry groups and overcame inefficiencies, internal politics to create a new efficient and effective advocacy group.

2. Kleinhardt was engaged by the Queensland Department of State Development and the Cairns Regional Economic Development Corporation to formulate industry development plans for:

   • International Education providers
   • The IT industry
   • The Forestry industry
   • Property and construction industry.

   Kleinhardt established industry clusters which identified operational and cultural changes and effected strategic and business plans to increase efficiencies and build additional business.

3. Kleinhardt was engaged by the Queensland Department of State Development and the Cairns Regional Economic Development Corporation to facilitate formation, development and implementation of industry clusters embracing:

   • Marine
   • Professional services
   • Environment, education
   • Health
   • Food, and
   • Transport industries

   This resulted in a significant increase in export business for the clusters and provided economic benefits for the region at large.

4. Kleinhardt facilitated the Department of State Development's monthly CEO Enterprise Development Groups. These groups, each comprising 15 CEOs from a diverse range of industry, provided a platform for discussion and resulted in the generation of common business, management and regional economic development interests.