The importance of Sino-Australian sister city type relationships in regional development

Using the Jiangsu-Victoria and Greater Green Triangle-Yangzhou relationships as case studies this paper provides an initial analysis of the origins, objectives, achievements, and limitations of SinoAustralian Sister City Type Relationships. Based on research to date, we suggest that certain factors, including the development of inappropriate SCTRs have seriously limited the capacity of these relationships to achieve their stated and unstated regional development objectives. After reviewing the recent history and perceived effectiveness of Sino Australian SCTRs. the paper concludes by commenting on the potential of such relationships to contribute to economic and cultural development in regional Australia.

Can knowledge management save regional development?

Australia needs to create innovative regions to sustain economic prosperity and regional development. In order to do this, regions will need to systematically address their knowledge needs and identify tools that are appropriate in maximising their effectiveness. Many initiatives have focused on information and communication technology (ICT) to enable knowledge exchange and stimulate knowledge generation, but active knowledge management (KM) strategies are required if ICTs are to be used effectively. These strategies must respond to the regional economic and social environments which incorporate small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This paper outlines the importance of KM for supporting regional cluster development and the key ways in which communities of practice (CoPs), a KM technique, have been used to add value in similar contexts. How CoPs and their online counterpart, virtual communities of practice (VCoPs), can be used and developed in regional areas of Australia is considered along with a program for further research.

Communities of enterprise: SMEs, ICT and regional development

Many regional economies have pursued a strategy of stimulating the development of regional clusters. Such clusters typically include small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as a core component of those economies. Effective cluster development in that context depends on SMEs sharing knowledge and generating innovation. ICT networks can be an important resource for this sharing and innovation. This paper proposes the concept of ‘Communities of Enterprise’ to conceptualise the relationships and communication patterns used in cluster development. This concept builds on theoretical understandings of information systems, clustering and regional development. The value creation potential of Communities of Enterprise, supported by ICTs is substantial, but only when the socioeconomic elements of regional clusters are understood. The Community of Enterprise approach addresses the fact that without an industry focus it can be difficult to engage and link SMEs from different industries, although this is where the greatest potential for value creation in regional clusters is to be found. This paper concludes by considering the relevance of Communities of Enterprise for understanding and researching eCluster development in the Australian regional context.

Regional development through the enterprise of arts leadership

The literature in the field suggests that a community without arts-practice risks its future. Contemporaneously, evidence suggests that the future of some communities, specifically regional or rural communities, are at risk because of the withdrawal of essential services, which leads to economic and social decline. There is also evidence that arts practice has revived economic and social activity (and performance measures) in regional cities and towns. In this article, I argue that the arts foster regional sustainability, and I propose that an arts leadership that is collective in nature and associated with vision and creativity is needed if the arts are to achieve regional sustainability.

Education and training institutions : building social capital for regional development

Education and training institutions from schools through to universities have a vital role in supporting development in regional Australia. The interaction between these institutions and their rural communities influences the social capital of the community and the extent to which the community is a learning community, willing and able to manage change to the community’s advantage.

There are benefits to be had from a collaborative approach to planning and delivering training. This approach is consistent with theories of social capital that emphasise the crucial part played by networks, values and trust in generating superior outcomes for individuals, communities and regions. Research has found that education and training is most effective in building social capital and learning communities were there is attention to customising or targeting education and training provision to local needs. The key to matching provision with local needs, particularly in the more rural and remote areas, is collaboration and partnerships. Partners can be regional organisations, other educational institutions, businesses and government. The factors that enhance the effectiveness of the collaborations and partnerships are the elements of social capital: networks, shared values and trust, and enabling leadership.

Networks are most effective where there were opportunities and structures for interaction, which can be termed interactional infrastructure, that foster networks within the region, and networks that extended outside the region. Interactional infrastructure includes regional forums, committee structures, consultative processes and opportunities for informal discussion addressing the issues of education, training and employment in a community or region. Better outcomes are evident when there is an interactional infrastructure that is resourced with financial, physical and human resources of sufficient quantity and quality. Collaborations provide access to a greater range of external resources through extended external networks. Effective networks and shared visions, values and trust among the partners in a collaboration, are fostered by enabling leaders. Educational institutions are well placed to supply the ‘human infrastructure’ that makes collaborations and partnerships work, including enabling leadership.

Attention to factors associated with the quality of social capital, especially interactional infrastructure including leadership, shared vision and values and networks within and external to the community, can be expected to improve the effectiveness of education and training outcomes. More importantly, a collaborative approach to planning for education and training in rural regions will build the capacity of regions and their constituent communities to develop and change by building social capital resources. Leadership is an important driver of processes that build community and regional capacity and ultimately produce social and economic benefits through regional development. Educational providers in rural regions are well placed to act as enabling leaders.

The role of sustainability in community and regional development in Europe

Regions around the world are focusing on sustainability as an elemental and critical part of their economic survival. The aim of this paper is to examine how sustainability drives community and regional development in Europe. It begins by defining sustainability and the different contexts in which it has come to be understood. A case study methodology is then used to examine how cities like Cologne, Germany have fostered sustainability. Entrepreneurship and its role in community development are also addressed. It concludes with policy implications as well as the potential significant impact on businesses and communities in the United States.

Working with local government to research strategic development within regional Victoria

Changes in population size and composition, forecasted for regional Victorian cities, have the potential to significantly impact upon their urban environments. The Built Environment Research Group (BERG) at Deakin
University, in collaboration with The Centre for Sustainable Regional Communities at La Trobe University, is currently working with the City of Greater Bendigo and the City of Warrnambool to research this situation. The following paper introduces the work being undertaken to develop strategies for promoting an integrated approach to regional development, and  addresses the administrative context supporting current decision-making processes within local government.

Learning from rural planning development to encourage urban and regional planning ; indigenous villages versus city development in Bali province

The most important crises in the planning system is related to the significance of "capitalist state" influences [3]. In the global context, Bengs states that there is a matter partiality between "global capitalism" and "national democracy"[4]. Bengs stresses that planning is closely related to the economy of a country, which is in one side the government wants to reduce taxes, while on the other side there is a dilemma of the global and indefinite solicitation of assets. Hall (2002) discusses the problems of the city; those are city planning, history of planning, and geographical setting. City planning is not only planning in one region but also including the district around the city, such as river basin and a certain regional culture. The urban planner should involve all those aspects in the city planning. Friedmann (2003) distinguishes planning theory into three types. First, planning theory is related to planning in particular fields such as land utilization, transportation, urban design, regional development, environmental planning etc. Second, the type of theory related to planning tout court, and the third type is the theory about planning itself. Sanyal (2002) states that although planners have limited autonomy, their actions affect policy result [5]. Friedman (2003) supports Sanyal's argument stressing that planners learned from their actions not from theories.

On the fringe: barriers to participation in the new economy in regional areas

Electronic commerce offers tools which potentially support the development and re·invigoration of regional economies because of their ability to /ink enterprises and labour markets in networks across dispersed geographical areas. However. the evidence that regional areas of Australia benefit from this development in accordance with optimistic forecasts of the potential is, at best, mixed. This paper examines the constraints on the development of IT-based activity in regional areas and identifies barriers to full participation of those areas in Australia. It argues that regional areas are unlikely to benefit from the 'new economy' without a major changes in government thinking about regional development.

Population driven development in the City of Casey: is it sustainable?

The City of Casey is the fourth fastest growing region in Australia. Thus far its success is population driven. This paper reviews the recent trend in regional development policies in Australia with particular reference to Casey. A new model based on the Regional Innovation System framework for the analysis of development in the region is constructed. Questions are raised about whether this region can have economically sustainable and innovation driven development in the future

Socio-technical factors influencing channel use for knowledge-sharing in regional SME networks

The economic sustainability of regional areas is dependent on cross-industry innovation and knowledge-sharing among Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The web-based initiatives deployed in regions worldwide to facilitate SME knowledge-sharing have typically been unsuccessful. This paper argues that the main reason for these failures is the lack of understanding of the socio-technical factors which influence the use of web-based channels (websites, online forums and expertise databases) as well as the more conventional channels (face-to-face and e-mail). This paper reports the findings of interpretive case studies of two regional SME business networks. It evaluates the major channels on six socio-technical criteria: link strength; trustworthiness; tacitness; usability; durability and currency. None of the channels were strong against all socio-technical factors. This highlights the importance of achieving an appropriate mix of channels to facilitate SME knowledge-sharing.