Technology Advancement - Essay Example

AN INITIATIVE TO ATTRACT DIGITAL AND CREATIVE TALENT FROM AROUND THE WORLD TO NEWCASTLE Draft Proposal Technology advancement in the 21st Century has brought with it significant benefits and opportunities for nations, organizations and for people (Hodgkinson, 2011). For this reason, cities across the world are striving to position themselves as technology hubs in a bid to attract digital and creative talent, who are not only reliable but useful assets in production of new, unique, quality, rare and costly to substitute innovations that enhances the competitiveness of the cities in attracting both domestic and foreign investments (Almeida & Bruce, 1997). This forms the backbone of the Public Relations (PR) plan. The topic of the PR plan is ‘Attracting digital and creative talent from around the world to Newcastle.’ The primary target public includes all creative and innovative graduates from across the world with interests in the digital world regardless of gender, age and race, religious and political affiliation. Secondary audience includes new enterprises, public and private institutions and organizations with the desire to collaborate in developing new digital ideas to design innovative digital products for the future, in Newcastle. The strategy of the PR plan is to portray Newcastle as the future Silicon Valley through a global mass awareness campaign titled ‘Newcastle, Beyond Silicon Valley!’ Silicon Valley is the main hub for advanced digital innovation and development in the United States as highlighted by PriceWaterhouse Coopers (2010). Public Relations Plan Attracting digital and creative talent from around the world to Newcastle is essential in facilitating rapid growth of the city, enhancing digital literacy in Newcastle and the wider Australian community and permitting increased uptake of internet technologies, which will enhance the competitive position of Newcastle in the international digital society as supported by Digital Newcastle (2012). Research and situational analysis (SWOT) The strengths and weaknesses of Newcastle are related to Newcastle’s innovative production and consumption milieu as highlighted by Romein and Trip, (2010). Strengths There are significant numbers of students in higher learning institutions and in higher vocational learning in Newcastle There are significant numbers of graduate students taking creative courses, which enhances the city’s access to a resource pool of more talent and skills (Romein and Trip, 2010) There are increased number of annual events and cultural amenities that have more than 10 thousand participants and visitors respectively, from within and outside Newcastle There is liveliness, tolerance to social cultural diversity and ethnic diversity in Newcastle, which provides a suitable commercial environment that encourages creativity, innovation and networking (Romein & Trip, 2010). Newcastle has a reputation as a creative city and is positioned as a hub for modern technology in Australia(Kellar, 2012). The city enjoys a world class communication and transport infrastructure comprising of fast broadband and rail, road, air and water transport networks respectively (Kellar, 2012). Newcastle enjoys a high degree of commitment from Australian government, local institutions and businesses that encourages development of incubator programs (Kellar, 2012). Weaknesses There are limited number of organizations and new businesses operating in creative industries (Romein & Trip, 2010). There are limited programs developed to stimulate new businesses in the creative industry and few meant to stimulate networking among creative enterprises and entrepreneurs (Romein & Trip, 2010). There is limited supply of accommodation and possible shortage in the housing market, which hinders affordable accommodation for young creative students and digital entrepreneurs (Romein & Trip, 2010). There is inadequate supply of working spaces required to host creative enterprises Opportunities Lack of employment opportunities in traditional sectors for graduates has the potential to push them to enter non-traditional industries such as digital and creative industry and in so doing moving to digital city such as Newcastle (Romein & Trip, 2010). The enormous benefits of technology advancement are likely to push individuals and organization to seek places such as Newcastle, where they can acquire digital literacy (Kellar, 2012). Threats There are other cities around the globe that have more working spaces and affordable accommodation amenities that Newcastle does not have (Romein & Trip, 2010). This will mean new business startups and graduates will relocate or opt to invest their time and resources in other more affordable creative cities that also offer sufficient working spaces for businesses that would wish to expand. Publics: segmented The primary target publics are creative and innovative graduates from across the world with interests in the digital literacy regardless of their gender, age and race, religious and political affiliation. Secondary target audience includes new enterprises, public and private institutions and organizations with the desire to collaborate in developing new digital ideas to design innovative digital products for the future, in Newcastle. Goal The main goal of the PR plan is to attract digital and creative talent from around the world to Newcastle with the intention of making Newcastle a leading technology hub. Strategy To achieve the above mentioned goals, the PR plan seeks to attract digital and creative talent from around the world to Newcastle, by portraying Newcastle as the future Silicon Valley through a global mass awareness campaign titled ‘Newcastle, Beyond Silicon Valley!’As earlier highlighted, Silicon Valley is the main hub for advanced digital innovation and development in the United States (Pricewaterhouse Coopers, 2010). Objectives The main objectives of the PR plan are to  establish and position Newcastle as the leading digital city on the global map.  enhance digital literacy in Newcastle in order to increase the competitiveness of the city in attracting both domestic and foreign investments as a digital city  Help invest in the human resource in terms of skills and abilities in Newcastle Tactics To achieve the set goals and objectives, a plan implementation committee comprising of five voluntary members shall be established to oversee the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the PR plan. It shall be accountable to resource allocation, selecting appropriate media, evaluating progress, making recommendations on required changes, mobilizing support from all relevant stakeholders and ensuring the plan is a success. To achieve the set goal and objectives of the PR plan, the tactics used includes the use of varied media to create global awareness about the ability of Newcastle to nurture talents and provide favorable environment for innovation and creativity (Digital Newcastle, 2012). More emphasis will be placed towards using social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter. Coupled with social media networking, it is important to establish new digital self-help groups to help develop a platform to discuss issues relating to internet use and digital systems. Other than that, mass awareness on a global scale will be achieved by development of online industry resource for the creative industry in Newcastle and organization of industry forums and summits to create both local and global awareness about Newcastle’s technology abilities. Print media and electronic media shall also be used.Infomercials shall be developed that highlights the capabilities of Newcastle as a digital hub and as an eligible creative and digital investment destination. In addition, commercial advertisements placed during prime time, shall be used to display the potential and capabilities of Newcastle in terms of nurturing and developing digital and creative talents. Budget The Budget for the proposed PR plan is 10,000 US dollars. The resources will be allocated as follows Print media – $2,000 Electronic media-$3500 Development of online industry resource for the creative industry and organization of forums and summits-$2000 Remunerations for involved staff-$2000 Miscellaneous expenses-$500 Total =$10,000 Evaluation To evaluate the success of the plan, the plan implementation committee shall be holding monthly meetings to review progress. A 50% increase in the number of creative and talented people coming into Newcastle’s creative sector from foreign countries within one year and a 45% increase in the number of new business enterprises coming up in the digital and creative industry in Newcastle in one year shall indicate success of the plan. Justification and evidence on which the decisions and directions taken in the plan Creativity and innovation plays a significant role in improving the competitiveness of organizations and economies(Kellar, 2012). Dougherty (2001) notes that technological advancement, creativity and innovation are drivers of competitiveness and knowledge-based economies required to improve economic performances of countries and cities within modern market-driven environments. The ability for countries and organizations to deal with issues of globalization and modern day challenges is reliant on their capability for innovation and creativity. As a result, varied cities across the globe are investing in positioning themselves as creative and digital hotspots (Hodgkinson, 2011). For this reason, the PR plan seeks to position Newcastle as a leading digital hotspot in the global map by attracting digital and creative talent from around the world. Through the talents pulled into Newcastle from within and outside, the city will develop a strong basis for a flourishing future by increasing productivity, encouraging investment and establishing suitable environment for both local and foreign entrepreneurs and in so doing, attracting investments, entrepreneurs, talents and creativity into Australiaas echoed by Digital Newcastle (2012). As indicated in the draft proposal, to survive in modern business and market environments, organizations and governments are striving to keep up with the changing needs of the customers and population respectively, by relying on technology, resulting in digital economies (Hodgkinson, 2011). Digital economies, which are knowledge economies, are presenting unique opportunities for the countries and organizations to improve the quality of products and services they produce and deliver to their end users (Dougherty, 2001). More importantly, they are generating new market opportunities, which when capitalized on generate sustainable competitive advantage for the countries and organizations in attracting and retaining investments (Hodgkinson, 2011). For Newcastle, attracting digital and creative talent from around the world is the first step towards positioning itself as a leading digital city on the global map as supported by Kellar, (2012). Such a position brings with it enormous opportunities for Newcastle in refining the abilities and skills of the labor force in Australia, in delivering competitive products and services and in attracting and retaining both domestic and foreign investments, all of which helps develop stable, productive and progressive Australian economy (Digital Newcastle, 2012). The focus on Newcastle by the PR plan has been informed by the potential the city has in nurturing talent and becoming a high tech hub. The potential is illustrated by the significant numbers of students in higher learning institutions and in higher vocational learning in Newcastle and the high numbers of graduate students taking creative courses, which enhances the city’s access to a resource pool of more talent and skills (Romein & Trip, 2010). The large number of annual events and cultural amenities that attract more than 10 thousand participants and visitors respectively, from within and outside Newcastle, the liveliness and tolerance to social cultural diversity and ethnic diversity in Newcastle, provides a suitable commercial environment that encourages creativity, innovation and networking (Romein & Trip, 2010). In addition to this, Newcastle as a city has a reputation as a creative city and it is portrayed by the government and the Australian media as a hub for modern technology with sufficient technology infrastructure and systems useful for talented minds and new enterprises in the digital and creative industry (Kellar, 2012). The objectives and the goal of the PR plan to attract digital and creative talent from around the world to Newcastle in a bid to make the city a leading digital city is based on the fact that presently, Newcastle receives ample support and commitment from the government in establishment of world class communication and transport infrastructure, that are essential in making the set goal and objectives of the PR plan easily and effectively achievable (Kellar, 2012). In order for a project to be successful, it is important to establish a project steering committee. A project steering committee plays a significant role in officiating the roles and responsibilities within the project in determining who does what and when, establishing and maintaining set goals and objectives of the project, managing scope, managing costs, arranging financing, overseeing project process improvement, obtaining backing and support from all relevant project stakeholders and facilitating communication among stakeholders (Lechler & Cohen, 2009). The PR plan proposes a plan implementation committee to act as a steering committee and oversee the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the PR plan. As earlier indicated, the implementation committee shall be accountable to resource allocation, selecting appropriate media, evaluating progress, making recommendations on required changes, mobilizing support from all relevant stakeholders and ensuring the plan is a success. The PR plan proposes the use of varied tactics to create global mass awareness. By so doing, the campaign and initiatives to attract digital and creative talent from around the world to Newcastle will benefit from the advantages of various media. This is because, different media have varied advantages. The focus on social media networking is based on the fact that both individuals and organization are relying on them to inform their consumption patterns and behavior and connect with their end users respectively. Social media is presently a powerful tool of creating awareness, informing, appealing and convincing targeted audience. Media Release NEWCASTLE: BEYOND SILICON VALLEY! Attracting Digital and Creative Talent From Around The World To Newcastle Innovation and creativity are playing an important role in enhancing the ability of organizations to produce new quality, costly to substitute and unique products and services and in so doing, developing sustainable competitive advantage. Cities and countries are capitalizing on the benefits of innovation and creativity by establishing themselves as technology hotspots. Among such cities is Newcastle. In order to position itself as a leading digital city on the global map, it is important to launch a global mass awareness campaign in order to attract talent and creativity into Newcastle. To achieve this, the strategy is to link the initiative with an already recognized technology hotspot, Silicon Valley. The focus on attracting digital and creative talent from around the world to Newcastle is informed by the strengths Newcastle has as a potential digital city. Newcastle not only has world class communication and information infrastructure systems but also has a higher tolerance for social diversity and ethnic diversity that provides a suitable commercial environment that encourages creativity, innovation and networking. In addition, the significant numbers of students in higher learning institutions and in higher vocational learning in Newcastle and the high numbers of graduate students taking creative courses enhances the city’s access to a resource pool of more talent and skills that is suitable for attracting digital and creative talent from around the world. ### For more information about the initiative please contact using Tel no: Email address: Self-Evaluation The thing that I did the best in this assessment task is in writing the PR plan. Not only was I able to research and critically analyze varied sources to inform my work, but also, I had to apply various concepts and insights taught in class. During the situational analysis, I realized that apart from identifying the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of Newcastle, I was able to establish the promising elements about Newcastle as a potential technology hub. The hardest part of the assessment was writing the media release. This is because I did not know what to include in the media release and what not to despite the fact that I have theoretical knowledge on media release writing. If I had a chance to do this assessment again, I would research more on how to write an effective media release. References Almeida, P., & Bruce K. (1997). The Exploration of Technological Diversity and the Geographic Localization of Innovation.Small Business Economics, 9(1), 21-31. Digital Newcastle. (2012). Building a 21st Century City Economy to Better Serve our Community: Attracting, encouraging and retaining innovative businesses. Newcastle: Digital Newcastle. Dougherty, D. (2001). Reimaging the differentiation and integration of work for sustained product innovation.Organization Science, 12, 612-631. Hodgkinson, S. (2011). Is Your City Smart Enough? Digitally enabled cities and societies will enhance economic,social, and environmental sustainability in the urban century. Ovum, p2-36. Kellar, J. (2012). Is Newcastle ready for the digital age? Newcastle Herald, 3rd Nov. Lechler, T. G. & Cohen, M. (2009).Exploring the role of steering committees in realizing value from project management. ProjMgmtJrnl, 40: 42–54. doi: 10.1002/pmj.20094 Pricewaterhouse Coopers. (2010). Q1 2010 US results. Money Tree Report. Accessed on 2nd Nov 2012 from Romein, A. & Trip, J.J. (2010). The creative economy in CCC cities and regions.SWOT Analysis Report 6.2.Accessed on 2nd Nov 2012 from Read More