October 2017

Welcome to the latest edition of Growing our Region.  

Hello and welcome to Growing our Region for October 2017. The last few months have been exciting with some project teams reporting on progress made, the launch of a new Accelerate25 website and recognition with a national award!

In August a number of project teams reported to the Accelerate25 Lead Team on the progress they have made over the past year. It was incredibly inspiring to experience their enthusiasm, hear about some extremely complex projects and see their plans come to fruition. 

We heard from Shelley Dew-Hopkins and James Stewart of the Accelerate25 Primary Reference Group as they presented on a number of initiatives they are supporting as part of the Land Use Optimisation opportunity. These include mentoring opportunities for young farmers, the Next Generation Farmers Extension Programme in Taumarunui and a second Hackathon planned for 2018.

The team from Horowhenua District Council (HDC) were also there to present on Project Lift. HDC are leading the Quality Care and Lifestyle for Older People opportunity. Project Lift is about creating a region that embraces its older people by finding solutions for their needs while also enabling economic benefits for everyone. This is an innovative project, while although still in the early phases, has a huge amount of potential to influence how we manage aged care across the country. 

A presentation was also made by Ruapehu District Council (RDC) and Visit Ruapehu outlining the Ruapehu Regional Visitor Development Plan and re-branding. RDC are leading the Tourism and Visitor Services opportunity and have created a plan which could be a blueprint for other similar sized councils with bountiful natural tourism assets. A huge amount of work has gone into this plan, and we look at it in further detail later in this newsletter.

At the end of August we also launched our new website www.accelerate25.co.nz. At the same time Accelerate25, along with Horizons Regional Council, were awarded  the Collaboration Award at the Inaugural Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) Awards. This national award recognised our innovative approach to implementing a complex long term programme.

I hope you enjoy catching up on our news. We are thrilled with the way the Accelerate25 programme is progressing, however we are conscious that we need to continue building momentum. There is no chance to take the foot off the pedal as we work together to achieve regional prosperity.

Michael McCartney, Lead Team Facilitator, Accelerate25

What's been happening in and around our Region?

Over the past two months there has been plenty of exciting news and events around our region. Many of which we should be shouting from the rooftops! To keep up to date with what's going on, join us on Twitter @Accelerate_25 or check out the following news stories.

Dairy company Synlait to spend on research at Massey University

Mentor programme to develop better younger farmers

Central North Island rebounds

Passport to emplyment for school leavers

Rural community fights for cell phone and internet connection

Manawatu/Whanganui house values experience growth

Regional leaders welcome latest UFB announcement

Accelerate25 and Horizons Regional Council win collaboration award

Ruapehu visitor boom great news for accommodation sector 

Manawatu youth set sights on big business

Consultancy says Horowhenua population will rise

Purpose built medical centre to transform healthcare in Horowhenua