The Elements for a Perfect Partnership between Venture Labs and Local Government

To make an impact in our communities, venture labs and accelerators need to engage with our respective local government councils and agencies. These agencies operate at the coal-face of community issues. And there are many, many issues at a community level that venture labs can help solve.

I recently heard the mayor of our local Council speak for close to twenty minutes on just the high-level range of initiatives the Council has in play. Mightily impressive.

This obviates just how incredibly busy local government agencies are with Business as Usual (BaU). It’s precisely the issue that shackles Councils with regard to applying innovation to solve community projects and opportunities.

And this is where venture labs and accelerators can be such a powerful ally for the operational machinery of Councils and community-based agencies.

That local government machinery has been spinning like a well-oiled machine for decades and even longer, in some cases over 100 years.

However there’s tremendous pressure on Councils from local communities to focus on community goals around accessibility, economic development, sustainability, and livability.

Each of these important issues warrants fresh and innovative input to complement the perspectives of Councillors and busy Council executives.

How Can Councils Get Value From Their Local Venture Labs

As I mentioned, Councils are in some cases overwhelmed with their BaU agendas, so we can’t expect they can take time out to pursue innovation programs that add further workloads.

Rather, there’s great leverage for Councils in thinking of local venture labs and accelerators as innovation think-tanks, ready and eager to bring Council’s toughest challenges to their startup cohorts.

The potential returns for Councils are not just in harvesting startup innovation, they also foster community innovation and participation, in some cases including local high school and college students.

It’s potentially a kind of beautifully synergistic system where Councils effectively sponsor the kinds of community involvement that you could normally only dream about.

Transparency of Strategy and Planning is Crucial

It’s far to say that Councils and community agencies have traditionally been circumspect about showcasing their inner workings. The world has changed and continues to mature in terms of transparency and open sharing of data in the spirit of cooperative efforts to solve problems.

In this environment there is optimum leverage for Councils when working with venture labs. Both groups bringing tremendous energy and complementary skills and knowledge to be applied to solve the toughest of challenges.

SEVENmile Venture Lab is Proof This Works

In Manly and the northern beaches of Sydney, our venture lab Board of Directors have made it a priority to engage with our local Council and in turn the Council has enthusiastically supported our work and has begun to look at SEVENmile as a mechanism that can complement Council’s capabilities.

Our Mayor, Michael Regan, recently said, “Northern Beaches Council is proud to support our start-up business community and creation of innovative local jobs that match the skills of our residents. Seaforth Village Community Centre was designed to support business start-ups and Council has committed to assist SEVENmile to launch its accelerator program over 12 weeks with use of this space. This program will help support innovative start-ups and expand access to education and economic opportunities right here on the Northern Beaches.”

All over Australia there’s tremendous potential for close collaboration between extremely busy Councils and the venture labs and accelerators that are now commonly found in every city and region.

This collaboration has the ability to make a very positive impact to enhance accessibility, economic development, sustainability, and livability.

I’m excited to say we have just started to scratch the surface with our local Council and even though at a very early stage, there is a clear sense that we have the elements for a high-performance team.

About the author:

Greg Twemlow is a Sydney-based Social Enterprise Founder | Startup Mentor | CEO | Writer | Speaker | Podcaster