Innovation Upper Murray
Charting a course for the region beyond the 2030 Vision.
Upper Murray Inc is proud to be a partner in an exciting project that builds on the substantial work in the Upper Murray 2030 Vision and the Community Recovery Plan. Using a new place-based strategy in regional development, the project has championed exciting innovation opportunities that reflect our region’s unique strengths.
The project builds on the substantial work done over the past years with the Upper Murray Community Recovery Plan, the Towong Shire community plans and the Upper Murray 2030 Vision. It brings them together to lay the foundations for a course tailored for the Upper Murray.
The project has looked at the strengths and assets, people and resources in our distinctive region and highlighted the most promising and innovative opportunities for development and community well-being.
Using a local development strategy honed for regional Australia, it has highlighted and investigated opportunities in agriculture, biomass, conservation, pumped hydro and tourism.
The ‘Innovation Upper Murray’ project is supported by Upper Murray Incorporated, Towong Shire Council and the Victorian Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action.
For more information, head to www.innovationuppermurray.org
The project uses a new approach to regional development to look at the innovative strengths and assets, people and resources of the Upper Murray
— Smart Specialisation Strategy
The project
The “Innovation Upper Murray” project uses Smart Specialisation Strategy to analyse the community strengths and potential with the goal of creating a set of projects ready for investment.
The starting point of the Smart Specialisation process was a close examination of the existing status of economic, social and environmental characteristics of the area, and of publications and reports generated by the Upper Murray community groups and Shires the region sits across, to produce a regional context analysis.
Through that analysis, the assets and resources which are available to support economic innovation were made clear, as well as the key policy initiatives that are relevant to the region. Five innovation opportunities were proposed as a conclusion of this report.
The following stage was a series of Entrepreneurial Discovery Workshops, to investigate in detail each opportunity and understand which ones were worth pursuing. Following the workshops, four innovation opportunities were approved for further investigation and progressed to Innovation Working Groups.
Four stages to deliver innovation opportunities
-
Collect all available information, documents and testimonials to understand the current dynamics of the Upper Murray. Identify and explore themes for potential competitive advantage.
-
Brainstorm each theme identified as within Entrepreneurial Discovery workshops, to define concepts that can become viable projects or businesses.
-
Refine the concepts within innovation working groups and over several meetings, to test and trial projects in their value propositions for competitive advantage.
-
Identify potential sources of government and private investment. Activate projects or business cases, maximise return on investment and value for the community.
Innovation Opportunities
Empowering Next Generation Agriculture
Empower the next generation Upper Murray producers to develop and lead future facing agriculture production systems that leverage the region’s distinct seasonal growing conditions, drought resilience and future market opportunities, giving the region a competitive advantage.
Utilisation of Plantation & Agriculture Biomass & Low Value By-Products
To utilise current biowaste products from plantation and agriculture activities to create higher value products through biomanufacturing or local regional inputs.
Pumped Hydro: Renewable Energy Generation & Storage
To investigate and evaluate the potential for pumped hydro development in the Upper Murray that leverages the region’s natural assets (elevation changes and water) to generate and store renewable electricity for use in the region and beyond, while delivering community benefit.
A Connected Upper Murray Tourism Ecosystem
To create a more connected Upper Murray tourism ecosystem to grow visitation and better leverage the region’s unique wilderness and nature-based, outdoors tourism potential for regional benefit.
Conservation Ecology Centre
Preserve, showcase and advance understanding of the Upper Murray ecosystems, flora and fauna, and conservation areas through the creation of a conservation ecology centre.
