First Steps

The first dips of a paddle in the water; the first steps of a marathon, are probably the most important steps in any endevour. So it is for Project Technology Valley, just as it is for this website, as I grab the chance to make this first blog post.

The opportunity to turn the Hutt Valley into an economic powerhouse is only exceeded by the massive need to transform this community. First steps often attract little notice and seem to yield less headway. But these early steps will create important foundations for what must yet be done.

Project Technology Valley is an initiative taken by a group of industry player, under the umbrella of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce. It has the backing of the areas local authorities and numerous other institutions, such as Weltec, Industrial Research Limited and GNS Science

Over the years there have been numerous plans and reports written. There have also been some efforts made to reverse the nagging decline. But it is clear that three factors are crucial to the success of Project Technology Valley:

The community itself must properly invest in progress

We need to fully understand why initiatives have failed in the past and seek to do it differently this time

It must involve the whole community and not be confined to competing silos.

These early steps will be very much about laying the right foundations. They’ll be about careful research and investigation, and they’ll be about building strong community support for something that everyone will benefit from.

My role in Project Technology Valley is to run the communications, stakeholder relations and community building. Resources will not allow us to extravagantly push messages out to people, but building support for something that can deliver good will need your involvement and input. So, please comment, send us ideas and suggest ways you can contribute.

Project Technology Valley has made a start. In this first year we aim to make a number of small but important differences to the wellbeing of Hutt Valley residents. That can only compound over time so that our children and their children reap the real rewards of more highly-skilled jobs and a community that has genuine wealth and social cohesion.