Sunshine Coast Regional Council eNews
August 2009
Marketing Matters: Getting the Right Message Out There
If you are a small business, don't miss this 1/2 day workshop where you will learn about addressing the challenges you encounter in raising the profile of your business. Key areas covered will help enable you to develop your marketing and communication action plans.
Workshops run from 8:30am to 12:30pm on the following dates:
Thursday August 13, 2009 at Australis Noosa Lakes
Wednesday August 19, 2009 at DEEDI, Level 2, 12 Innovation Parkway Birtinya
Friday August 28, 2009 at Caloundra Events Centre
$30 per person or $20 per person for members of Chambers of Commerce and business associations.
In this month's edition:
Sign up for Council's tender alerts
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Here are some of the tenders that council are currently advertising. For more details on current tenders and to sign up for tender alerts, visit council's website.
Outlook for local businesses looking brighter
The second Sunshine Coast Business Confidence survey was conducted online over three weeks in June/July and consisted of six questions targeting business owners across the region to gain a representative view of business confidence across all sectors.
This quarter the survey included a focus question on the tourism industry to gain an understanding of how this particular sector is faring in the economic downturn.
The recent figures also showed the Sunshine Coast appeared to be digging in to weather the worsening job market.
The outlook for businesses on the Sunshine Coast for the next three months is looking brighter, with the figures showing an increase in business confidence from 73 percent in April to 79.7 percent for the next quarter.
View the full July survey results on our website.
Applications now open for community grants
Council grants of up to $50,000 are now up for grabs.
The regional grants program is now open and the 2009/10 grants handbook explains how individuals or groups can apply for council support for projects that make a difference to our community.
Major grants are available for amounts between $2,000 and $50,000, and minor grants for projects up to $2000. Individual Development grants are available for up to $500. The closing date for the next round for all these grants is 15 September.
Grants are available in the categories of:
From 24 August, applicants can book a 30-minute application clinic with a council grants officer and bring their draft application in for a one-on-one review. Application clinics are designed to help people ensure their application for funding has the best possible chance of success.
The grants handbook is available from all Customer Service Centres or by post. Call council to book your spot in an application clinic. For more information visit council’s website at or call 5475 7272.
Sippy Downs infrastructure will be fast tracked
Council is poised to jumpstart the knowledge economy in one of the Sunshine Coast’s fastest growing areas with a multimillion dollar investment in critical infrastructure.
Council’s Strategy and Planning Committee has agreed to bring forward construction of sewerage and road infrastructure for the Sippy Downs Town Centre and Technology Precinct. The move is designed to create jobs in both the short and long term and trigger private investment in the precinct.
Discussions with local landowners about plans to fast-track the infrastructure are already underway and formal negotiations were expected to commence shortly.
The Sippy Downs precinct will make a substantial contribution to efforts to diversify the local economy and the infrastructure is critical to the success of the Sippy Downs Towns Centre.
Plans for the Sippy Downs Town Centre and Technology Precinct were finalised late last year and it will be a significant asset to the region when completed.
By acting as banker for this vital infrastructure, council hopes to drive the creation of the Australia's first genuine University town centre, based on knowledge-based industries and employment growth.
Council will eventually recoup its outlay via infrastructure agreements with those landowners but action was needed now in the interests of the region.
The Business and Technology Precinct will include around 80,000m² of commercial floor space and is expected to generate about 2,000 jobs in education, commercial, business and technology-based businesses.
Local business expo set to be a great success
The inaugural Sunshine Coast Business Expo on 22 and 23 October at the Novotel Twin Waters Resort will provide a one stop shop for businesses in the region, showcasing the latest cutting edge products and services, valuable networking, educational opportunities, latest technological and innovative trends and business know-how, and a wealth of information to help support businesses to gain a competitive edge.
The expo program has been designed to help business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs take their enterprises to new heights with a focus on dynamic speakers delivering 'hot topics' with the aim to encourage and support regional businesses during a time of economic turbulence throughout the nation and beyond. Well known Economist Bernard Salt will be one of the keynote speakers at the expo.
A free babysitting service will also be available for the duration of the expo with staff from Tadpoles Early Learning Centres, allowing mums and dads with home based businesses to attend.
Exhibitor booths have been selling quickly and only a small number of exhibitor booths are still available. For more information about the expo, visit the website or phone 5443 5661.
Coast businesses going green and reaping the benefits
Eight Sunshine Coast businesses will be welcomed as ecoBiz partners by the Honourable Kate Jones, Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability at a breakfast on Friday, 14 August from 7:30 am at Bistro C, Noosa.
The ecoBiz program is a six step process which helps businesses look at their operations and reduce their water use, energy consumption and waste production.
Madill Motor Group at Noosaville reduced their water use by 75 per cent and which equalled $1989 of savings.
Sheraton Noosa Resort and Spa reduced waste disposed by 41 per cent, water usage by 17 per cent (the equivalent to 3.6 olympic swimming pools per year) and energy usage equivalent to the energy used by 26 Queensland homes in a year.
These reductions have saved the Sheraton Noosa over $83,000 in additional resource costs.
Other new ecoBiz partners have also made fantastic reductions:
The Sheraton Noosa, Kabi Golf Club and the Halse Lodge will speak about their experience and accomplishments at the free breakfast. Spaces are limited and bookings are required—to book call 5449 5149.
The promotion of the ecoBiz project on the Sunshine Coast over the past to years has been a joint initiative between the state government and council. Visit our website for information on how your business could become the next ecoBiz partner.
Asia Pacific Rally Championships secured until 2012
The Rally Queensland - Asia Pacific Rally Championships will make the Coast its home for the next three years.
Council will provide $55,000 per year for sponsorship of the event, one of only three Australian events accredited by the Federation of International Automobile Sport (FIA), for a three year period from 2010 to 2012.
The national and international focus on the event has the potential to inject millions of dollars into our local economy.
Past experience of the organisers, the Brisbane Sporting Car Club, has indicated that the total expenditure by teams, officials and spectators from outside the region can inject more than $2.2 million into the economy.
Council's support of this event over the longer term has the potential to continue generating such returns particularly if it's commitment enables the staging of the rally to become a permanent fixture on the Sunshine Coast’s sporting calendar.
The Sunshine Coast has already played host to ceremonial starts, media events and competitive stages of the Rally Queensland event as a past sponsor.
Council and State Government set to work together to strengthen region's economy
Council and the Queensland Government's Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation (DEEDI) will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to work collaboratively in an open, supportive and trusting relationship for the benefit, advancement and promotion of economic development and sustainable employment within the Sunshine Coast region.
By signing the MoU, council and DEEDI are agreeing to:
The MoU will be signed on August 18 at the Maroochy Research Station by council's CEO John Knaggs and the Director General of DEEDI, Peter Henneken.
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