Ten years since Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull launched the Hunter’s Smart Specialisation Strategy (S3) for the Hunter Region at Parliament House, Canberra, RDA Hunter released Smart Specialisation: Then & Now – a ten-year reflection on how the region’s industrial landscape, innovation ecosystem and workforce needs have transformed since 2016. The document is available for DOWNLOAD HERE.

When the original strategy was launched in 2016, the Hunter was among the first Australian regions to implement the Smart Specialisation model – an internationally recognised, evidence-based framework developed by the OECD and implemented widely across the European Union – to help identify its industries of competitive strength. Its launch attracted national attention, with the strategy raised in Senate Question Time on the same day

The Then & Now Reflection examines how each of the seven priority sectors identified in 2016: Advanced Manufacturing; Creative Industries; Defence; Food & Agribusiness; Medical Technologies & Pharmaceuticals; Mining Equipment, Technology & Services (METS); and Oil, Gas & Energy Resources have evolved over the decade.

A key observation is that much of the region’s progress has been driven through distributed, sector-led activity, particularly across defence, clean energy and health innovation, rather than by a co-ordinated, top-down program. This organic evolution reflects the Hunter’s industrial resilience, and reinforces the value of returning to a shared, evidence-based framework to guide future planning and investment.

The release of this Reflection confirms RDA Hunter’s focus on visionary economic development. We will draw on the Smart Specialisation framework, and others like it, to support innovation-led regional development that contributes to growth, diversification and a skilled, homegrown workforce.