Technology Valley Working Group
The Technology Valley Working Group is a gathering of individuals who have come together to promote and assist in the realisation of the Technology Valley vision for the Hutt Valley. Each member has volunteered their knowledge, experience and time to build the vision and to begin the early work.
The organisations and people who can share the Technology Valley vision are welcome to join and contribute, and play an active role in realising the vision. However the Technology Valley Working Group will be comprised of individual members so that it can collectively retain its independence to express itself in support of the vision, rather than merely the views of any individual organisation or enterprise.
Why Technology Valley?
Local, regional and national governmental structures and priorities are continually changing and multi-national corporations are increasingly transient. Top-down regional economic development strategies have lacked consistency in this environment and inevitably shown limited impact when localised support is needed, particularly for smaller enterprises.
A Technology Valley vision has been created as a means of engaging stakeholders to be empowered and to help shape the economic development that occurs within their communities, neighbourhoods and business groups. This approach is based on the view that these entities and communities naturally relate to their own particular needs and circumstances first, and must therefore be given the means of self determination so that they can support a wider agreed form of appropriate and profitable economic development. Only then might it avoid the top-down and fragmented efforts of the past, receive buy-in at every level, and be sustainable.
Technology Valley purpose and mission
The overall economic development and wellbeing of the Hutt Valley and Wellington region has been in decline for more than 30 years.
The revival of the community’s economy requires fresh thinking, an entrepreneurial attitude, expert inputs and the involvement and support of the whole community.
Technology Valley is an industry led community partnership. We are tasked to turn our back on the mistakes of the past 30 years; namely neglect and ad-hoc bureaucratic strategies largely focused on top-down driven processes rather than on delivering results, which can be relevant to each community and sector.
Purpose Statement:
Technology Valley will be a thriving ecosystem and community partnership to create prosperity and wellbeing in the Hutt Valley (and beyond for the Wellington region and New Zealand).
Mission Statement:
To transform the Hutt Valley into a prime New Zealand centre for economic and export growth, primarily based on high value manufacturing (advanced research, technology and engineering).
This will be achieved through:
- Exploring and understanding all inherent advantages and opportunities so that they may be more fully harnessed
- Stimulating industry development and employment by leveraging the region’s R&D strengths to build advanced technologies as the core competencies of firms
- Creating high quality digital connectivity both within the valley and externally to the rest of New Zealand and globally
- Building a proud and actively engaged community of common interest committed to the creation and success of Technology Valley
- Influencing a cultural shift towards learning, innovation and striving for improvement
- Connecting talented and capable people
- Celebrating and communicating success
- Improving the physical and spatial environment, including tangible infrastructure, so that they support the development of Technology Valley
- Inspiring young minds.
Like Silicon Valley, Technology Valley will not re-name a geographic location or set up a new bureaucracy. Rather it is an aspirational state-of-mind and attitude, located in the region, which uses technology orientated programmes to achieve improvements in community prosperity and wellbeing. As a movement for good it will create a simple sense of community belonging, involvement and motivation for those it embraces (community building).
Unlike many initiatives of the past, Technology Valley’s objectives and tasks will frequently be appropriately shared through many organisations, businesses and individuals. Much of this activity will involve action / learning steps that will be fed back into integrated communications and a committed cycle of leaned improvements.
Technology Valley values and beliefs:
We value above all our commitment to the sustainable growth and wellbeing for the whole of our community.
We acknowledge the crucial importance of harnessing science, technology and engineering resources for our businesses’ long term prosperity.
Our ethos is a determination to leave a community for future generations, which is an improvement on the present time.
We regard people, in all their diversity, as our most valuable asset.
Positivity, teamwork and building pride in our community is our working ethic.
We are committed to the highest standards of fairness, ethics and integrity.
We believe in exploring any appropriate avenue to create advantage for our community.
We will work with any reputable and socially responsible person or entity to achieve our goals.
We expect and will be accountable for constant gains for the community.
Website: www.technologyvalley.co.nz
Other members of the Technology Valley Working Group:
David Miller, Vantage Consulting Group
Paul Mather, WelTec Centre For Smart Product
Fraser Carson, FRESCO and Flightdec Communities
