Economic Development

Convention Centre Meeting Economic Development is responsible for leading, managing and delivering Council’s strategies, policies and programs to promote the sustainable economic development of the City.

Work focuses on increasing the number of students and workers in the City and is informed by Council’s Strategic Management Plan (2004-2007).

Economic Development is involved with a number of initiatives and programs, including:

Enterprise Adelaide
Education Adelaide
Worker and Student Population Growth

Current Projects

:: Enterprise Adelaide
:: Guide to Mixed Use Development
:: Education Adelaide
:: Workforce Attraction
:: Public Sector Employment Program
:: Business Charter
:: Retailer Services Program
:: Education Institution Attraction
:: Citylan Wireless Internet Expansion
:: One Stop Shop - Feasibility Study
:: Worker and Student Population Growth Plans

Enterprise Adelaide

Enterprise Adelaide is a single point of contact for business advice and services in the City of Adelaide. Its aim is to support and foster the growth of business by providing relevant business information and assistance to business owners who are starting, growing or relocating a business in the City of Adelaide.

Supported by The Department of Trade & Economic Development, The Adelaide City Council and Business SA, Enterprise Adelaide provides access to business advisors, enables networking and referrals to government and non-government specialists and coordinates a range of workshops, seminars and business growth and coaching programmes.

It provides:

Business development and information services for small and medium business
Training, mentoring and business coaching programs and workshop
Specific industry and business precinct growth initiatives
Licensing and regulatory information to new or changing businesses.
Services are available by email, telephone, at the Enterprise Adelaide office or by appointment at customer's business premises. Information regarding workshops, seminars and information services is available at www.enterpriseadelaide.com.au. Regular email updates are available by registering on the Enterprise Adelaide website.

» Visit the Enterprise Adelaide Web Site

Guide to mixed use development

Adelaide City Council is committed to revitalising the City as the heart of the State – and successful mixed use development is critically important to achieving this.

» Visit the Planning and Building pages for further information on the mixed use guide

Education Adelaide

Education Adelaide was established under a partnership arrangement between the State Government, Adelaide City Council, and the three local universities. The mission of Education Adelaide is to facilitate doubling South Australia’s share of international students by promoting Adelaide internationally as a clearly differentiated, preferred, education destination, to the benefit of the State’s education providers, the local economy and the City of Adelaide.

» Visit the Education Adelaide Web Site

Workforce Attraction

A key element of Council's Workforce Growth Plan is the requirement to attract new organisations and workers to the City under the banner of Think Adelaide. Council's Manager promotes the benefits of locating a business in the City, and can facilitate the relocation through tailored forms of assistance. Council will target organisations that complement the industry strengths of the City, including professional services, retail, hospitality and tourism, ICT, health and education.

» Visit the Think Adelaide pages

Public Sector Employment Program

The accommodation policies of the State Government and Commonwealth Government will be a key determinant of the demand for office accommodation over the next five years. The City of Adelaide is identified by the Department of Administrative and Information Services as the preferred location for State Government accommodation. This program aims to identify opportunities for the location of State and Commonwealth Government functions in the City.

Business Charter

Council has endorsed a Business Charter, which is a 'quality assurance' tool, centred around guaranteed levels of service delivery to our business customers.

As a document it has two major components:

a catalogue of services which Council provides to business
a commitment to a standard of delivery of those services

The development of the Business Charter was in response to the challenge issued in 2004 by the State Government and the Local Government Association.

We expect benefits to Council will include matching our services with the needs and expectations of business, promoting Council services and as a feed into management and operational improvement, through an increased awareness of the needs of business.

Businesses will benefit by having easily available information about our services, and transparency and accountability in service delivery, including a 'guaranteed' level of service.

» Open the Charter for Services to Business (PDF, 172Kb)

Retailer Services Program

In July 2003, Economic Development organised the Retail Summit, which was called by Council in response to the deregulation of shop trading hours. An outcome of the Summit was the Retail Action Plan, and this was endorsed by Council in September 2003. A key item in the plan is the delivery of a Retailer Services Program.

The Retailer Services Program was held which provided a focus on quality retailing, customer service and integrated education and consultancy services to boost the value of retailing in the City and North Adelaide. So far over 170 retailers have participated in training sessions associated with the Retailer Services Program. Information on upcoming opportunities can be obtained by contacting Enterprise Adelaide on 8203 7815.

Education Institution Attraction

Council has a goal of increasing the number of students in the City to 66,000 by 2010.

Two of the key actions in the Council’s Student Growth Plan were to:

Work with State Government to target identified educational niches in the South Australian market; and
Develop individualised support measures to attract new institutions and assist the expansion of existing institutions.

This program was developed to attract education institutions not currently in South Australia or Adelaide to locate in the City; and assist existing institutions to increase their capacity.

Citylan Wireless Internet Expansion

An action in the Student Growth Plan is for Council to support the further development of digital infrastructure to increase wireless coverage of the City’s educational institutions, student accommodation and significant entertainment precincts. Council is partnering with Internode to expand the initial wireless network established for the World IT Congress in 2002. It is expected that an additional 100 nodes will be added to the network as part of this project.

One Stop Shop – Feasibility Study

Council commissioned a feasibility study on the establishment of a multi-institutional One Stop Shop which will provide information for prospective students and their families on education and training offerings, career development, accommodation and entertainment. This is part of the broader social and information support network for students. Work on this concept is progressing.

Worker and Student Population Growth Plans

Council’s Strategic Management Plan (2004-07) has as its primary strategy: “Increase the number of people living, visiting, working and learning in the City to an optimum sustainable level.”

The Economic Development Unit is responsible for development and management of the Worker and Student Population Growth Plans. These growth plans will be interventionist in nature, and outline the required actions to meet the ambitious goals of securing an additional 11,000 students and 11,000 workers in the City by 2010.

» Open the Workforce Growth Plan 2005-2010 (PDF, 1Mb)
» Open the Student Growth Plan (Endorsed Student Growth Plan is in the policy section of Council’s intranet site)

Toolbox

Ask Us About