INTERVIEW WITH DAVID BORGER

The Liverpool Innovation Precinct is a collaboration of 10 partners working to advance the health, research and education innovation ecosystem in South Western Sydney. The ten partners are:

•         South Western Sydney Local Health District (SWSLHD)

•         NSW Department of Education

•         Sydney Catholic Schools

•         TAFE NSW

•         South Western Sydney Primary Health Network

•         Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research

•         University of NSW

•         Western Sydney University

•         University of Wollongong

•         Liverpool City Council

The collaboration of these organisations is focused on generating and commercialising new ideas and products that can solve problems facing our communities and support the creation of new businesses and jobs in  South Western Sydney. This is being achieved by merging an innovation mindset with strong commercial experience through:

•         Building on the Precinct’s key strengths in health, research and education

•         Driving and supporting growth in knowledge-intensive jobs

•         Supporting the economic growth of the region by solving problems, identifying and fillings gaps and enabling growth in complementary sectors

•         Integrating schools into health workforce development strategies

•         Enabling pathways to commercialisation of startups and research outcomes

•         Enabling businesses to move up and along national and global value chains

•         Aligning with an Asia Pacific focus for international collaboration

•         Leveraging the investment in the Western Sydney Airport and Moorebank Intermodal to attract investment and jobs to Liverpool.

The Independent Chair of the Liverpool Innovation Precinct Steering Committee is David Borger, Executive Director of Business Western Sydney. David is well known to many business owners in Western and South Western Sydney in his role as a vocal advocate for making Greater Western Sydney a better place to live, learn work and play.

David recently shared some of his thoughts on the Liverpool Innovation Precinct as well as its progress and plans.

Q: We all hear a lot about precincts these days. What makes the Liverpool Innovation Precinct different?

A: There are 2 important things that sets the Liverpool Innovation Precinct apart from other precincts in Sydney. The first is that it is anchored by the Liverpool Hospital which is one of the few major hospitals that are located in the heart of a city. Most other health facilities have been built in isolated areas away from businesses and people.  We want all these doctors, nurses, researchers and health workers spending their money in the local shops, supporting jobs and a vibrant ecosystem of different types of people crossing paths with people they might otherwise not meet – that’s how so much innovation has happened. The second difference, and an important one, is the strength of the collaboration between the partners. The openness and collaboration between the partners is incredible. They all came together with a common vision for what they wanted to do for Liverpool and South Western Sydney. We believe in Liverpool and we want to see it succeed as a dynamic city centre for Sydney’s booming South West.

Q: What are some of the achievements that have been made to date?

A: We’ve actually achieved a lot in a short space of time. For a start, it was the partnership that campaigned for the NSW Government to invest $740 million in the expansion of Liverpool Hospital. Those works have already begun and are due for completion by 2026. This project is a huge opportunity to integrate the hospital into the city and really drive that innovation ecosystem that we want to create in Liverpool. The Land Use Analysis and Precinct Strategy was launched in December 2019 by NSW Planning Minister Rob Stokes, which was also around the same time we appointed a fulltime, dedicated Director to be the connection between investors and the Precinct. With that focus we’ve hosted a group of digital health startups from Singapore, we’ve signed agreements with a number of large multinational health companies to collaborate on research and product development such as Hitachi, GE Health and Samsung and we’ve even won a Greater Sydney Commission Planning Award for our thought leadership on health integrated education and research with the K-12 sector.

Q: How will local businesses benefit from the Liverpool Innovation Precinct?

A: We really want to turbocharge the investment in Liverpool. That means more people visiting Liverpool, more people setting up new businesses in the CBD and surrounding industrial and commercial precincts and that means local businesses will benefit from a larger customer base who want to do business in this city.  We are actively working to attract investment from Australian and international businesses who are considering relocating or setting up in Liverpool. These businesses will be looking for local residents with the skills they need to operate their businesses and they will also be looking to integrate local suppliers into their supply chain. Start-ups are also very keen on the opportunity to find a home in Liverpool. The evidence already exists that successful innovation precincts completely transform and strengthen their local economies

Q: What’s next for the Liverpool Innovation Precinct?

A: A key priority for us is to set up a start-up incubator and small business support program to drive the innovative environment in Liverpool. The NSW Government has invested in a start up hub above Wynyard Station in the Sydney CBD and another one is planned for Parramatta but nothing in South Western Sydney. We have been pushing the case with the government that we need to provide this sort of support and engagement with the idea generators in South Western Sydney. We are also pushing forward with our proposals for a better integration of education and health in Liverpool. We see a strong opportunity to give the kids in Liverpool the opportunity to engage with possible future careers in health, research, innovation and education through their entire schooling experience not just in Year 10 or 11 when they do work experience. Why can’t Liverpool be known as a centre of excellence in education and skill development in these areas which have strong job and career opportunities?

Over the next 15 years, employment in Liverpool is set to increase by approximately 30,000 jobs at an average growth rate of 2.4% per year. Thanks to its strengths in health, research and education the Liverpool Innovation Precinct is set to be the home of job creation in South Western Sydney.