Research Theme 2.2 - Technology and innovation transforming remote businessesRemote businesses can be slow to adopt technological innovations from outside. This theme will use two specific projects as case studies to map and address the economic, business and social issues that both hinder and assist technology adoption and innovation in remote regions:
Research Theme 2.1 - Economic participation from cultural knowledgeThis theme will provide Aboriginal communities and existing MSMEs with the knowledge, information and data to develop new business opportunities built around non-exploitative commercialisation of cultural knowledge. This theme will apply whole-of-value-chain research and market analysis to Aboriginal art and tourism within a sustainable livelihoods framework.
Program OverviewThis program will create successful models for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) that are appropriate to remote locations and inclusive of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture. It will facilitate their survival and growth in the long term so that they can employ more people in remote Australia, providing the ‘engine room' for jobs and livelihoods. It will address barriers to growth, such as distance from markets, fragile or faulty supply chains and the scope for efficiencies to overcome high production costs.
Much of Australia's wealth is created in our remote regions, yet many of the people who live there are excluded from the economy. The impact of this on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population in particular is acknowledged by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) as a national policy priority through the National Indigenous Reform Agreement (Closing the Gap).
