About RED Toolbox

The RED Toolbox allows organisations to showcase products and services to domestic and export markets, to join and create Groups, and view videos and projects in the Workshop.

Options

1. Organisations can sign up for Free and manage a basic listing in the platform.
    
2. Organisations can decide to sign up for $330 and manage a custom listing, but also create a group and invite others to join.
    
3. Industry association, councils and hubs can decide to sign up for $550 as a broker and create multiple Groups – each with a different focus and membership.
    
4. Corporate and Government can choose to partner with or sponsor the platform - $8250 with whatever degree of involvement suits best.

The RED Toolbox provides the tools to manage a network, a sector or a region and its organisations (businesses, NFPs, high schools, universities, TAFEs and others).

RED Toolbox

The platform segments Australia into regions, matched to a range of capability building tools – events, groups, training, projects, innovation, export, sustainability, investment, future of work and jobs.

So regions, sectors and networks can collaborate and share. Organisations can showcase to the domestic market or to export markets overseas.

The platform can be used by organisations delivering products and services to the region or sector – government, associations, banks and insurance, commercial and corporate.

History

The original Regional Economic Development (RED) Toolbox was launched in 2017 as a national collaboration platform for productive industries in agriculture, creative industries, defence, health industries, indigenous business, manufacturing, METS and tourism.

The platform included a Showcase of 5,000+ organisations, multiple Groups for collaboration between sectors and a Library of videos.

The Showcase was used at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast to present Queensland exporters to international visitors.

During COVID, the Showcase was further developed as the Australian Food and Beverage Showcase Japan 2021, allowing Australian exporters to engage with Japanese buyers during Foodex, when travel was severely restricted because of the pandemic. The RED Toolbox Export Showcase continues to support export in Japan during 2022/2023.

Approach

The new platform is configured to the 52 regions and major industry sectors in Australia. It incorporates a domestic Showcase, Export showcases, Groups and a Workshop section with a video library and projects.

Each region has a listing page with contact details, economic focus, brokers, key businesses and a range of capability building tools – events, groups, training, projects, innovation, export, sustainability, investment, future of work and jobs, and a full list of regional brokers and businesses.

Organisations can signup to choose and manage a BASIC listing (FREE) or choose a CUSTOM listing with more options ($330) including the option to create a Group. Organisations can join Groups, engage by email, join events and browse information on innovation, sustainability, export, future of work or investment in the video library. All listings appear in the Showcase, and Export Showcases for international use.

Regional Engagement

1. Regional brokers invite their contacts and networks to register and join the platform, inviting them to join Public Groups or Groups with a specific interest for the region – eg startups, export, environment, defence, hydrogen etc
   
   
2. Group administrators post content relevant to the region’s groups…
   
   
3. Begin local events – use local/other business experts – to deliver presentations on export, technology, climate action, skills training and other relevant subjects…
   
   
4. Publicise wider events – presentations from other regions and/or subject matter experts in universities, corporate, CSIRO, government etc…
   
   
5. Promote to regional high schools, outlining the value of presentation subjects to students – study, climate action, jobs, training etc…
   
   
6. Publish regional projects – climate action, jobs creation, startups etc and publicise locally and to other regions. Encourage regions to connect to other regions with common interests…

Rationale

Australia is divided into 8 states and territories, and 3 levels of government, each with different aims, ambitions and leaderships. Collaboration and sharing is rare.

National Interest
It is in the national interest to have a holistic framework to manage innovation, showcase products overseas – diversify our productive industry sectors, develop new 21st industries, and encourage the sharing of ideas and projects more widely to create a fertile environment for business, research and development, and manage the future of work and jobs.

Business interest
Businesses want customers and sales – 100%. Businesses want information on their industry – 68%, innovation – 67%, management skills – 62%, benchmarking – 59%, finance, wages and salaries – 52%, government services – 33%, international markets – 30%

Expand Export Markets
Australia needs to showcase exporters to more markets than just China. And showcase more than minerals, food, education and tourism. To sell more products and services, earn more export dollars, generate jobs and employ more people.

Cross-pollinate and share
Australia is a big country divided. So regions continually “reinvent the wheel” when regions should be learning from other regions and cities. Ideas and successful projects should be shared between regions and sectors, with vision, connected strategy and purpose.

Gardening not architecture
A jungle and garden both grow from soil, seeds, water and light, but one has purpose and the other doesn’t. Our current economic development system is a jungle. We need to manage regional economies the same way a gardener manages a garden - with vision, planning, direction and care.

Support new industries
Australia’s 52 regions can be managed individually and collectively. Our innovation ecosystem needs connecting, sharing proven innovation, new opportunity, export and collaboration - a national “business intelligence” platform. Focus locally, but share and collaborate nationally.

Feedback and measurement
A national framework of sectors and regions supports economic development, project management, measurement and enquiry.. Businesses need market intelligence. Brokers need feedback on what works, what doesn’t and why.

Joining the dots
Australia is in competition with the world. Not itself. We need to connect the edges, the centre, the regions and the cities holistically – to support economy, environment, export, climate action and education and jobs.

Regional Economic Development – the RED Toolbox 4.0.