One agency to market Dunedin

The creation of a Dunedin marketing agency that would co-ordinate tourism, events and efforts to attract talent, students and investment to the city will be investigated as one of seven initial projects aimed at improving Dunedin's economy.

The final version of the Dunedin economic development strategy also omits the development of an energy strategy as an initial project, which Cr Jinty MacTavish will seek to have reintroduced as a priority.

The document has already been adopted by the Otago Chamber of Commerce, Otago Polytechnic, Otago Southland Employers' Association and the University of Otago. It will be voted on by the Dunedin City Council today.

Ngai Tahu is supportive, but is still in the process of adopting the strategy.

Otago Southland Employers' Association chairman Phil Broughton said the goals were ambitious, but he believed the projects were achievable and would reap benefits.

Developed by a steering group comprising representatives from the city council, chamber of commerce, the employers' association, the University of Otago and Otago Polytechnic, several changes have been made to the original document in light of feedback from public consultation earlier this year.

The revised version, for example, drops the development of an energy strategy to identify the economic benefits of reducing energy demand and carbon emissions as an initial project, in favour of the development of a plan to support education providers to attract international students.

Cr MacTavish said she hoped it was simply an omission, as sustainability and resilience were crucial to Dunedin's economic development.

Council economic development unit manager Peter Harris said the energy strategy was still one of 13 projects identified as needing to be done, and work already started on it outside of the economic development strategy would continue.

The seven priority projects were selected because of their potential impact, practicality, potential to increase export earnings, overseas investments, or migration, because they were collaborative projects and because they leveraged existing work or investment.

The investigation of a single marketing agency to co-ordinate the city's marketing efforts was also added as an initial project in the revised document.

Council staff and Tourism Dunedin were already investigating the various options for how the city could deliver the marketing messages it wanted to use to attract people and investment to the city, but the ultimate decision on how that might happen lay with the council, Mr Harris said.

The revised strategy also includes a broader leadership of the projects, where before the city council was leader most of them.

Although the revised document was did not specify dates, Mr Harris said a detailed implementation plan including time frames, measures and who would pay was intended to be released by the end of the year.


Top seven

Seven initial projects to improve Dunedin's economy, and who is involved:

• Better support for export businesses. Project convener: Otago Southland Employers' Association

• Dunedin Ambassadors programme - identify overseas ex-Dunedin residents to help connect export businesses with customers, investors and talent. Project convener: University of Otago

• Strategy to attract more international students to the city and boost the provision of education products and services offshore. Project convener: Otago Polytechnic

• Create plans to grow innovative and internationally competitive industries. Project convener: University of Otago

• Marketing Dunedin - investigate case for a single agency to co-ordinate the city's marketing efforts. Project convener:Dunedin City Council

• Project Shanghai and China - identify specific two-way trade and investment opportunities. Project convener: Otago Chamber of Commerce

• Red carpet, not red tape - install a "business-friendly" approach across the organisation.

*Source: revised version of the Dunedin economic development strategy.


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