Last week’s Australian Tropical Expertise Consortium Business Matching Roadshow rolled through Cairns, Townsville and Rockhampton with great success, attracting up to 60 participants from the host regions and beyond.

The Roadshow, delivered by Advance Cairns and with the support of the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Industry (DEEDI), was designed to facilitate relationship building between Australian Managing Contractors  and Tropical Experts from across North and Central Queensland, by bringing capital city-based AMCs and project co-ordinating firms to the regions.

Six presenters shared their insights into the many intricacies of international development business, including how to tender for such work, how to establish in-country relationships, and what AMCs and project co-ordinating firms are looking for when engaging with subcontractors for major projects. 

The four main business capability areas of Tropical Expertise (Tropical Living, Tropical Environmental Management, Tropical Health and Tropical Agribusiness) were well represented by the attendees in all three locations with a mix of skills and knowledge in areas such as animal reproduction, climate change, renewable energy, tropical architecture, sustainable architectural design, tropical disease management, training and OH&S, coastal land management, education, construction, and mapping.

Structured networking and informal networking opportunities during each leg of the Roadshow identified dozens of synergies between attendees and the presenters, with at least three connections now being formalised into joint project work.

If you missed the Roadshow then all of the presenter’s Powerpoint presentations are now available for viewing, via the links below: 

Peter Goldsworthy, Trade Queensland – Presentation

Vincent Sacriz, QUT- Presentation

Janette Clonan, ATEC Business Matching Contractor – Presentation

Ian McLeod, McLeod Training – Presentation

Harleigh Luscombe, Uniquest – Presentation

Clare Woolsey, JTA International – Presentation

Eric Kalmbach, Cardno PNG – Presentation

Due to the success of the Roadshow, plans are already underway to hold the event again in 2010. So if you missed it this year then there will be another opportunity to meet with various AMCs and project co-ordinating firms at a region near you next year.

The nine ATEC members who attended a two-day Trade Mission to Brisbane in April 2009 share their experiences from the mission via an online survey.

Find out how they rated the investment in terms of time and money to attend the mission, their suggestions to improve future missions, and how networking during the mission was beneficial to their business.

Read this snapshot of the results of the survey: Brisbane Trade Mission Survey – A Snapshot 

Identifying international aid/development opportunities will be the focus of a trade mission to Brisbane for a tropical expertise delegation from North Queensland, this week.

A diverse group of nine members of the Australian Tropical Expertise Consortium from Cairns to Yeppoon, with unique tropical expertise in the areas of health, education, training, research and the environment will spend two days in Brisbane to attend the Trade Queensland International Development Business Forum, and meet with Australian Managing Contractors. Representatives from Advance Cairns and the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation (DEEDI) will accompany the delegation.

The forum (on Tuesday, April 21) will explore the topic of “A Future for Queensland and the developing world” and will feature keynote speaker, the Honourable Bob McMullan MP, Secretary for International Development Assistance who will provide a comprehensive overview of Australia’s current development assistance strategy for East Timor.

Delegation leader Graham Poon, of G.K Consulting, said the members of the Tropical Expertise delegation will gain invaluable contacts through the networking opportunities at the forum, with a view to expanding their capabilities and sharing their unique tropical knowledge with developing nations in the tropical sphere.

The delegation will spend the second day of the trade mission meeting with Australian Managing Contractors including Uniquest, GRM, JTA International and the Queensland University of Technology’s International Projects Unit to explore their opportunities to partner on international aid and development projects.