The project is about working with a diverse range of people – from community members, businesses, government, local industry and education sectors - to identify and develop opportunities for economic diversification, growth and job creation.

The project will support long term economic and social outcomes for the communities of Marysville, Buxton, Taggerty and Alexandra.

The project is happening as a result of the Victorian Government’s decision to phase-out harvesting of native timber forests by 2030.

To support the transition, the Victorian Forestry Plan has been developed and under the Plan, the Victorian Government has provided grant funding to impacted communities to prepare a Local Development Plan.

The Local Development Plan will support long-term economic and social outcomes for our communities.

The project is funded by the Victorian Government under the Victorian Forestry Plan Community Support Stream. The funding is being administered by Murrindindi Shire Council.

A grant of $400,000 has been provided to support delivery of the project.

The funding is being used to employ a project manager to support the delivery of the project and to fund activities including project communications, external analysis, research and other activities that will support the creation of successful innovation opportunities.

At the completion of the project, identified opportunities may be eligible for additional funding from the Victorian Forestry Plan Community Development Fund and Transition Fund to support implementation.

The project is taking place from December 2022 to August 2024. The outcomes of the project will be realised after project completion.

Arrangements for an on-going structure and process, as well as funding opportunities, will be identified in the latter stages of the project to support delivery of the project outcomes.

The project will involve engagement and participation from across local community and businesses, as well as engagement with government, local industry and education sectors, to fully understand the context and strengths of the region.

The project is directly supported by the project manager as well as the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions, RMIT University and Murrindindi Shire Council.

The project funding is intended to support the communities of Marysville, Buxton, Taggerty and Alexandra who have been identified as being directly affected by the transition away from native timber harvesting.

The Victorian Government and Murrindindi Shire Council are working in partnership to provide support to the project. A locally-based project manager is supporting the delivery of the project within community.

The Community Reference Group is a group made up of community members from the Marysville, Buxton, Taggerty and Alexandra communities who will help to provide reference and representation of these communities in the initial phase of the project. They will provide advice to support the implementation of the project, support the project manager to make connection with potential project participants and act as advocates for the project to increase community awareness and participation.

The project is using a process called Smart Specialisation Strategy Methodology. This process aims to identify the existing economic strengths and assets of an area through engagement and interview with community, business, government, industry and education/research participants to identify potential innovation opportunities for economic development. Once identified, these opportunities are further investigated and developed into funding-ready business cases.

You can contact Matt Thomas (Project Manager) on 0436 652 129 or email mthomas@murrindindi.vic.gov.au to understand how you can get involved in the project.

Opportunities to get involved include:

• Attend one of the drop-in sessions
• Complete the e-form
• Complete the expression of interest form to be part of the Community Reference Group
• Follow the project via The Loop to hear about other opportunities to get involved
• Arrange a one-on-one interview

Feedback will inform the various stages of the project and the Local Development Plan. The final Plan will be endorsed by Council and the Department of Jobs Precincts and Regions, but will be owned by the community.

At the conclusion of the project, the Local Development Plan will set out a series of viable economic opportunities to support diversification, growth and employment. These opportunities will be supported by business cases for each innovation and an on-going structure and process will be created to support implementation and a continued culture of innovative thinking.

It is intended that an on-going structure and process will be established in the later stage of the project to support the seeking of funds and the implementation of the opportunities beyond the life of the project. There is funding of up to $500,000 available to provide project management support and to upskill community members to build business expertise and community capability once the Local Development Strategy has been created. This is in addition to competitive funding of up $2 million to begin the early implementation of the actions identified in business cases developed through the Local Development Plan.

Through the Victorian Government’s Victorian Forestry Plan, transition support packages are available for workers and businesses which is being managed by the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions. Further information on this support can be found at https://djpr.vic.gov.au/forestry/support

The project is intended to provide long term economic and social benefits to the communities identified as being directly impacted by native timber harvesting transition through economic diversification, growth and job creation. By delivering these outcomes the project will also likely provide wider benefit to other communities within Murrindindi Shire.

The Discovery Findings Report presents the culmination of findings from the first stage of the project and identifies potential innovation opportunities. The report contains three sets of information:

1. data about the local demographics of the area and the current economic makeup, including the key drivers of local economic activity
2. summaries and analysis of interviews and engagement with community, business, government and the education/research sector.
3. summaries and explanations of identified innovation opportunities. The report informs which opportunities will progress to the next phase of the project.

Following completion of the Define stage, Working Groups are required to help develop business plans for each opportunity. Working Groups will comprise relevant stakeholders from community, business, industry, government and the education and research sector who can help investigate and develop the opportunity. The Working Groups are responsible for the management of the innovation opportunities, including development of business plans and overseeing analysis, reporting and external consultations in relation to the innovation.