Projects

Melbourne East RDA is involved in a range of activities and projects that build on regional strengths and address issues faced by the region.

Melbourne East RDA has three key priorities:

• Addressing integrated transport issues
• Creating employment within the region
• Enhancing the region's tertiary education, research and innovation strength.

Based on these priorities, the RDA commissioned five pieces of research in 2011. These were:

• Transport: Journey-to-study [Project partners: 6 tertiary institutions in the region and 6 secondary schools]
• Creating employment within the region: capitalising on the highly educated and skilled demographic and focusing on CAAs and PACs
• Enhancing the tertiary education industry strength in Melbourne’s East region.
• Creating innovation and knowledge-based business employment in Melbourne’s East.
• Audit and market assessment of arts, cultural and meeting venues in Melbourne East

Transport and connectivity in the East.

Transport is considered the key weakness and the key challenge for Melbourne’s East. Melbourne East RDA commissioned indepth research into travel to study patterns.

This ‘Transport: Journey-to-Study’ project is a study of public transport trends and needs and focuses on the journey-to-study within the region. There are six tertiary institutions in Melbourne’s East: Monash University, Deakin University, Swinburne University of technology, Holmesglen Institute of TAFE, Box Hill Institute University of Melbourne (Hawthorn Campus). The Tertiary Transport Project Working Group overseeing the study and this work comprises transport representatives from the six tertiary institutions in the region.

Creating employment within the region: capitalising on the highly educated and skilled demographic and focusing on CAAs and PACs.

The East has noted for having a highly educated and highly skilled demographic. The RDA endeavors to capitalize on this latent strength by identifying the exact education and skill qualities, the emerging and growing industry sectors and finding matches with our skill /education strengths with a view to pursuing these to create employment opportunities within the region for residents.

This draft Final Report is being circulated to the CEOs of the 7 Local Governments in the region for their comment and input before being finalised.

Enhancing the tertiary education industry strength in Melbourne’s East region.

Education is an economic and employment driver in this region. Many people and businesses locate in the east because of the educational qualities held within the region. It has a concentration of highly regarded and high achieving state and private secondary schools and world-class universities and TAFEs.

There are six tertiary institutions in Melbourne’s East: Monash University, Deakin University, Swinburne University of technology, Holmesglen Institute of TAFE, Box Hill Institute University of Melbourne (Hawthorn Campus).

The Tertiary education industry sector has diminished in recent years because of a range of factors. The RDA wishes to facilitate support for this sector.

This report quantifies the economic value of education to the region and then identifies opportunities to support and enhance the strength of the tertiary education sector.

Creating innovation and knowledge-based business employment in Melbourne’s East.

Melbourne‘s East has a nationally significant strength in education, research and innovation. The region is home to leading national and international research and development infrastructure and knowledge capital, including the Australian Synchrotron, CSIRO main facility, universities and Institutes, R&D within major corporations, innovative micro and small enterprises. Acknowledgment of this strength is seen the titling of the heart as the South East Melbourne Innovation Precinct.

The RDA wished identified specific innovation research capabilities within the region, identify means of improving collaboration and interaction between innovation stakeholders, provide an understanding of the scale and scope of start-up businesses in the innovation field and contribute to a policy framework that will improve the formation and success of small businesses in this sector.

Regional opportunities in arts and cultural tourism

One potential opportunity put to the RDA was the development of a large 1000 seat facility in the eastern region. A report was commissioned to explore this concept.

This project is an audit and market assessment of the potential of a large scale performing arts/convention/ meeting venue. It will assess the financial potential of a 500-plus guests facility. The project will determine if the establishment of a large venue is viable in market terms and explore its potential to retain expenditure and increase employment and business opportunities in the East.

Submission to the Federal Government Major Cities Unit

Melbourne East RDA made a submission to the Federal Government’s Major Cities Unit on behalf of the Melbourne East region to provide a metropolitan regional perspective to the MCU. Melbourne East invited involvement from officers across a broad spectrum of departments from the seven eastern Councils to be involved and contribute to the development of the regional submission. Melbourne East also liaised with DPCD Urban Planning, the MAV and the 7 CAD Councils who also developed submissions to the Major Cities Unit. 

Broadband enabled technology and HACC/aged care services

A project concept was developed between Box Hill Institute, Manningham City council and Melbourne east RDA involving a pilot to trial the use broadband-enabled technology to enhance delivery of home and community care and aged care services in the region.

'Discover the East’ – promoting regional assets in cultural tourism and the arts

This project takes a regional approach to promoting cultural tourism assets in Melbourne’s East, focusing on a themed approach (festivals, galleries, heritage properties).

Potential Project partners: Valley of the Arts Regional Marketing Board, Destination Melbourne, Yarra Ranges Regional Marketing, 7 Local Governments.

Linking community health issues and environment strengths

This project focuses on enhancing mental and physical health through increasing awareness of and encouraging people to use the natural environmental spaces throughout eastern Melbourne.

A key strength for the region is environmental assets and a key community issue is physical health (obesity) and mental health (depression). This project concept links the strength in environmental assets and challenge in physical and mental health, and is scheduled for late 2011.

Potential Project partners: Parks Victoria, 7 Local Governments (community health and environment teams)

Publications

Advice to Government

This document encapsulates the 2010 Regional Plan information in a short, simple form with plentiful images to illustrate the region's strengths and issues. It provides an overview of the region, with simple graphic messages on key issues and opportunities.

Profiling Melbourne’s East: information behind the Regional Plan ( July 2010)

This project, a partner document to the Melbourne East RDA Regional Plan, details the evidence base for the Regional Plan. It is intended as a resource document for stakeholders to address the lack of regional information on eastern metropolitan Melbourne.

Regional eNewsletter

This document will provide current topical information to regional stakeholders.

Project partner: Regional Management Forum

Melbourne East RDA Brochure

This brochure provides preliminary information on the RDA network, Melbourne East RDA and the RDA region.

2011 Regional Plan