Regional Development Australia Hunter CEO Todd Williams recently met with the European Union (EU), in Brussels, to discuss the role innovation plays in economic and regional development.
Following on from this meeting about the prospect for regional and economic growth through innovation, Todd took the opportunity to brief Hunter business leaders on the way forward for the region’s innovation agenda.
The meeting covered a discussion on the EU innovation model, which demonstrates that investment into the innovation ecosystem delivers positive returns through economic and regional development, primarily focused on jobs.
“Meeting with the European Union in Brussels reinforced for me that keeping innovation firmly on the region’s agenda is critical for our future,” Todd said.
“The EU has proven that economic and regional development is strongly linked to innovation so initiatives like our Hunter Innovation Scorecard, a first for regional Australia, are important to maintaining a strong, innovative economy and promoting the region’s international competitiveness.”
The RDA Hunter’s Hunter Innovation Scorecard 2014 benchmarks the Hunter against EU regions and promotes the region’s innovation capability in research and development, education and various industry sectors.