The region will be a focus for initiatives

Western Sydney will be a focus of initiatives to drive growth and productivity under the NSW Economic Development Framework in 2014.

“A major focus will be to encourage greater collaboration between major NSW industries and the State’s world class research community to position the state’s economy for long term economic and jobs growth in an increasingly competitive global economy, “ the Department of Trade and Investment said.

Priorities in 2014 for Western Sydney, regional NSW and key industry sectors include:

• Statewide roll-out of a $1.4 million Supply Chain Accelerator program to develop globally competitive supply chains in key NSW industries through capacity building between NSW companies and business customers, including an Advanced Manufacturing pilot in Western Sydney.
   
• Strengthen promotion of NSW in priority markets through the NSW International Engagement Strategy, including $1.2 million to pilot a new Export Accelerator program to build capacity for NSW exporters with high growth potential.
   
• Knowledge Hubs led by industry in five key sectors (creative digital; energy; financial services; medical technology; transport, logistics & rail) to boost industry competitiveness through access to world leading information and research, information sharing and collaboration.
   
• A Regional Economic Development Strategy to position regional economies for long term growth, and align federal, state and local regional development activities.
   
• An Accommodation Supply Plan to ensure that Sydney and NSW have sufficient capacity to meet future demand for overnight visitor accommodation.

The department said it worked closely with industry and other interested stakeholders to identify priority actions for 2014.

These actions have been selected based on their importance and relevance for industry, degree of industry partnership and collaboration, and potential to deliver outcomes for key NSW industry sectors.