Staff from the Dunedin City Council's economic development unit (EDU) have since May last year been canvassing the city's technology companies in an effort to find out how best to help them prosper.
The most recent study by Berl Group, in 2008, found there were 167 information and communication technology companies (ICT) companies in the city, employing 642 workers and pumping $73.9 million into the Dunedin economy.
Contacted yesterday, EDU business development adviser Graham Strong said many of the companies were located within the same zone, stretching from the Octagon to Jetty St and surrounding blocks.
A technology precinct in the area would encourage closer co-operation and networking between the businesses, replicating in the heart of Dunedin the benefits of business parks found on the edges of other cities, he said.
The exact form could range from simple signs or a new logo, helping customers find precinct businesses, to greater networking and possible shared facilities, such as a boardroom or office, Mr Strong said.
"Collaboration amongst businesses potentially could be stronger. It will be a physical location and then the more non-physical aspects.
"Internationally, there are examples where precincts have worked. The key question is: what will it do for Dunedin?"
About 50 companies within the zone - each a member of the council's ICT cluster, established in 2007 - had been approached and appeared to support the council's plans, he said.
However, work was continuing to find a common vision for the precinct from talks with diverse companies, he said.
"It's great having people saying `we are particularly keen'. That's probably the first step in a 100-step race. It's not a short-term thing."
If it was agreed to pursue a more small-scale precinct, signs could be in place within six months, while a more ambitious development would take longer, he said.
There was no time line set for the completion of the project, and no budget set aside for physical developments, he said.
Separately, an internship programme organised by the council's ICT cluster had proved successful, he said.
The scheme, run for the first time late last year, saw about 80 students from the University of Otago and Otago Polytech applying for 26 short-term positions within ICT companies operating in Dunedin.
The placements each lasted between six and 13 weeks, with companies receiving a 50% subsidy from the council towards the cost of each student's wages, Mr Strong said.
The scheme, which has just finished, cost the council $40,000, paid for by the council's industry project fund and administered by EDU staff, he said.
The aim was to encourage talented students to remain in Dunedin over summer, hopefully leading to longer-term employment for the students in Dunedin.
It was too soon to say if the project would create long-term employment, but there had been "a mountain of interest" from employers and it was hoped the programme would be repeated again late this year, he said.
