In August 2021, the CRC joined the Oceania Chapter of The Competitive Institute (TCI) Network, an organisation for specialist industry clusters around the world.
Founded in 1998, TCI is the world’s leading network of people and organisations working in clusters and innovation ecosystems. Its aim is to ‘create global connections, inspire clusters and improve policy learning’. Its vision is to utilise the power of collaboration to move towards more inclusive and sustainable societies.
A non-profit, non-governmental organisation, it is open to cluster entities and individuals from all continents. The extensive TCI network encompasses more than 500 members, 87 cluster organisations and 9,000 practitioners in 111 countries. Among its members are many of the world’s most successful agrifood-industry clusters.
In Australia, the network has several members, including the federal government’s Agribusiness Growth Centre, Food Innovation Australia Ltd (FIAL), whose Managing Director, Mirjana Prica, is Chair of the Oceania Chapter and is also on the global TCI Board.
“Clusters are gaining increasing recognition to support collaboration, and build connections, business growth and innovation among businesses across numerous sectors,” says Ms Prica.
“For the Australian food and agribusiness sector, clusters play a vital role, especially given that nearly 98 per cent of the 176,000 businesses are small to medium enterprises, meaning the shared learnings, resources and connections provide an edge in unlocking innovation and business growth,” she says.
Why join TCI Network?
TCI membership affords access to an array of benefits, including a vast repository of information and resources on clusters across Australia and internationally. They include:
- Cluster resources – relevant information on a broad range of specialist industry clusters and innovation ecosystems;
- Slideshare presentations from previous TCI conferences, webinars and workshops as well as the ‘Cluster Basics’, available download and share;
- TCI’s YouTube channel, with global and regional TCI webinars as well as interviews with relevant experts;
- a monthly TCI Newsletter, containing curated news from around the world, member project announcements and an audience of around 9,000; and
- LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook community pages, which TCI members are free to join and use to start discussions with peers.
- TCI Network’s LinkedIn Company Page. which members can follow.
“Being a part of TCI Network gives you many possibilities to stay up-to-date [with…] relevant content that you, as a professional, might be looking for,” states TCI.
“Among the wide spectrum of resources and communication channels we offer, you can find interesting content, showcase your profile, start discussions with your peers, receive last-minute updates and give your feedback.
“As a TCI member, you are also welcome to use our channels to disseminate your news or projects among the network.”
Upcoming TCI Conferences
TCI Network’s annual Global Conference is set to take place in Kazan, Russia, from 15 to 17 September. For details, visit the event web page.
The TCI 2021 Oceania Conference is scheduled for 9-11 November in Cairns, Far North Queensland. Find out more here.