External partnerships We foster and maintain partnerships with key stakeholders, between other levels of government and with private enterprise to provide better public transport, services and opportunities such as commercial property development, tertiary education, accommodation or satellite offices which will attract business and visitation (local and external). Securing stakeholders who are willing to advocate for and invest in the long-term development and growth of Georges River is integral to the region’s long-term economic success. This may include promotion of city-shaping and growth initiatives in the pipeline such as the River Rail (Kogarah to Paramatta future rail link) and the proposed $200 million revitalisation of Netstrata Jubilee Stadium. We are an active member in the Kogarah Collaboration Area (a multi-stakeholder approach to helping the strategic centre of Kogarah reach its potential), the Central City Alliance (councils working towards a city deal and the delivery of River Rail), Resilient Sydney (a collaboration of all 33 metropolitan councils of Greater Sydney to develop and implement a citywide resilience strategy), the Southern Sydney Innovation Ecosystem led by Regional Development Australia (Southern Sydney councils supporting and building the entrepreneurial ecosystem of Southern Sydney) and the independent think tank, the Committee for Sydney. Council is a member of the Southern Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (SSROC), which advocates for the member councils on a range of issues. We also have links to the tertiary sector through our collaboration with University of NSW and University of Sydney in the ChillOUT Hubs – Smart Social Spaces Creating Connected Green Places project; and the University of Technology, Sydney in a pilot study investigating the dynamics of the Kogarah Entrepreneurial Ecosystem. We remain actively involved with the St George Business Chamber, collaborating on the Springboard Program for Small Business Month in October 2020, offering a support package in response to COVID-19 and focusing on local procurement in 2021.
ChillOUT Hub Mortdale
In July 2020, we created an Expert Recovery Panel comprising Dr Rob Lang, Eamon Waterford and Katherine O’Regan to guide our post COVID-19 recovery efforts. Each member was selected based on their skillset (economic development, city placemaking and investment) and their interest in contributing to the development of our city.
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