RDA Orana is among the top seven RDAs in terms of response rate following a national survey of stakeholders.
RDA Orana acting chair Brad Cam (pictured) said the organisation had received 68 responses to the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications survey, ranking it among the highest in Australia.
“Our region had one of the higher response rates to this national survey on the effectiveness of RDAs with 20% of all of NSW and 6% of all of Australia,” Mr Cam said.
“We were ranked as number one by our respondents as being responsible for regional development ahead of local government and the overall satisfaction with our RDA was 90.9% with an average of 83.6% in NSW and 84.8% in Australia.”
Mr Cam said there were 13 items where RDA Orana was ranked and scored above both the NSW and Australian average.
“The ranking of charter items was based on importance for regional economic development and our ability to collaborate with stakeholders to identify economic opportunities was listed at number one.”
RDA Orana’s ability to connect regional businesses and sectors with international trade partners, financial markets and potential investors along with engagement with entrepreneurs and business leaders to explore opportunities also ranked highly.
“Sharing information about the region to all tiers of governments and industry, business and community sectors was also rated highly by survey respondents.”
Mr Cam said RDA Orana has come a long way in terms of community engagement, interactivity and keeping the government informed about the region.
“The community is responsive to what we do and the government is listening to the needs of the region. RDA Orana is not only performing its role, but doing it well. This result is something of which RDA Orana can be proud.”
The Regional Development Australia (RDA) program was launched by the Australian
Government in 2008 and aims to develop and strengthen economic outcomes for regions.
