Grant Smart 2005

The 2005 Grant Smart Expo at the Gravity Discovery Centre in Gingin in May was a significant day for community groups and businesses seeking access to government funding. Around 120 people from the northern metropolitan area and across the Wheatbelt attended to listen to more than 17 Australian Government representatives promote opportunities available from the Australian Government and showcase funding opportunities and priorities for small business and community projects.

The Grantsmart Expo was hosted by the Perth and Wheatbelt ACC’s and conducted at the Gravity Discovery Centre which was not only an ideal venue but provided the opportunity to enjoy a project that has been funded under the Regional Partnerships programme.

The Expo was opened by Senator David Johnson and the official welcome from Mr David White Chair of the Wheatbelt ACC was followed by a series of rotational workshops highlighting Australian Government programmes and giving participants the opportunity to talk to representatives about their projects and communities. Australian Government departments represented were Department of Transport and Regional Services; AusIndustry; Department of Employment and Workplace Relations; Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs; Skills Migration Unit – WA Department of Industry and Resources; Department of Family and Community Services; Centrelink; Austrade; Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry; Department of Education, Science and Training and the Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts.

The Sundowner function at the end of the day gave participants and presenters the chance to network and to sample local Wheatbelt produce.

Professor David Blair from the University of Western Australia entertained and enthralled dinner guests with his recollections of the development of the Discovery Centre, some of the major challenges encountered and what’s in store for us from the wonderful world of physics. The day was completed with a stargazing experience and supper at the Southern Cross Cosmos Centre.

The Grantsmart Expo is an example of the role that ACC’s play as a facilitator of information flows and acting as a catalyst and co-ordination point for a whole of government response to regional development. This has been undertaken by drawing together avenues of funding and resources for communities and businesses to foster development in their regions. The Perth and Wheatbelt ACC’s hope that the success of the event will be reflected in the development of new projects and initiatives for funding through Regional Partnerships and the Department of Transport and Regional Services.