The CSIRO has mapped Australia’s digital technology industry clusters for the first time. And perhaps surprising for some, Daylesford is recognised as a regional niche cluster for graphic and web designers and illustrators.
Research in economic geography has shown that industry clusters drive growth and innovation. They are a critical component of effective industry growth and development strategies. Decision makers in industry and local government need to consider industry clusters as part of strategic planning.
The CSIRO examined 2,473 SA2 regions in Australia. An SA2 region is defined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics as a community that interacts together socially and economically. These are usually suburbs within cities or catchments of rural towns. The Daylesford SA2 includes Hepburn, Hepburn Springs, Glenlyon and Eganstown.
Not surprisingly, most IT clusters are situated in major cities but the CSIRO study identified 36 regional niche clusters which contained significant digital workforces specialised in one or two areas of digital technology expertise.
Daylesford was found to have the fifth highest concentration of IT workers in regional Victoria and the 11th highest concentration of graphic and web designers and illustrators in regional Australia.
The full CSIRO report is available from the CSIRO website.
