Regional Connectivity Program - Round 2

The Department has committed to improving the VET system by enhancing industry’s role through the establishment of Industry Clusters as separate legal entities. The Department intends for the Industry Clusters to be ‘industry owned and led’. It is contemplated that new entities will be established for the purposes of carrying out the functions of an Industry Cluster, however, consideration will be given to existing organisations where they can demonstrate that they are 'industry owned and led' and capable of delivering on the objectives of the program, as set out in the assessment criteria.

The program intends to establish and fund nine Industry Clusters (although the number and groupings of Industry Clusters will be determined through this grant funding process including the opportunity for applicants to propose alternate arrangements). The number of Industry Clusters is intended to support scale, efficiency and collaboration across the training system, and ensure sufficient funding is available for each cluster.

This grant opportunity will be undertaken in two stages as follows:

Stage 1: Open competitive process
Stage 1 will seek applications from industry leaders, which represent a range of related industry sectors, detailing how they would propose to establish and subsequently operate an Industry Cluster entity.
While applicants will not be expected to have established their governance and administrative arrangements prior to submitting an application, applicants will need to demonstrate:

• they represent a broad industry-based grouping of related sectors, including clear evidence of industry support;
• plans to develop the capacity required to deliver all cluster functions;
• a clear plan for establishing a strong governance structure aligned with these grant guidelines, that balances the interests of all stakeholders; and
• plans on how they will address / engage in cross sector work with other similar Industry Clusters and the industries within their remit.

Stage 2: Closed non-competitive process
Once successful applicants in Stage 1 have undertaken any initial activities in relation to their Industry Cluster, the Industry Cluster organisation may then participate in the second stage of the grant process, being a closed non-competitive process.  The Industry Cluster organisation is to submit an application detailing how it proposes to carry out the Industry Cluster function. It is expected that this application will be substantially similar to the proposal lodged in response to Stage 1 of the process.