From 1 January 2027, Australia will be able to participate in Pillar II, joining New Zealand, which has been associated with Pillar II since 2023. The opportunity also extends more broadly across Oceania, with organisations from a number of Pacific countries able to participate in Horizon Europe and, for many calls, potentially access EU funding.

Following TCI Oceania’s recent webinar on building capability for cluster and innovation ecosystem practice, the conversation continued. Questions raised during and after the session - about what effective ecosystem practice actually requires, how those capabilities are developed, and where they should sit - helped prompt the development of a new TCI Oceania discussion paper, An Ongoing Conversation on Building More Capable Innovation Ecosystems.

The starting point was a relatively simple question: what capabilities are required to effectively lead, convene and orchestrate innovation ecosystems? But the conversation quickly moved beyond the capabilities of individual practitioners.

TCI Oceania Secretariat Dr Nicola Watts recently caught up with long-time cluster and innovation ecosystem practitioner Bruce Connolly, who has been closely involved in the development of the Latrobe Aerospace Technology Precinct in Victoria’s Gippsland region. What makes the story particularly interesting from a TCI perspective is that it is not simply an infrastructure project. It is a story about recognising assets and emerging opportunities, connecting capabilities, attracting partners and investment, and progressively creating the conditions in which an ecosystem can develop.

TCI Oceania Secretariat Dr Nicola Watts recently caught up with David Hicks, Founding Director of Circular Ecosystems, to discuss their pioneering work in industrial symbiosis and ecosystem intelligence, including the internationally recognised work being undertaken in Western Australia's Kwinana Industrial Precinct.

The recent release of the 2026 IMD World Competitiveness Rankings has once again sparked discussion about the relative performance of national economies.

Australia improved slightly to 17th globally, while New Zealand fell to 37th. The report highlights familiar challenges around productivity, innovation adoption, investment attraction, workforce capability and economic resilience. Rankings such as these provide a useful starting point for discussion. They offer valuable insights into economic performance and can help identify areas requiring attention. However, they are only one lens through which to view competitiveness.

TCI Oceania recently hosted a thought-provoking webinar with Dr John H. Howard, author of the Handbook of Innovation Ecosystems, bringing together practitioners, policymakers and precinct leaders for a rich discussion on ecosystem design and performance.

Across Australia, regional manufacturing is being reshaped by new expectations around capability, collaboration and innovation. For the Central Coast, Central Coast Industry Connect (CCIC) — a TCI Network member — has become the backbone organisation helping industry, government and education partners work together as a coordinated ecosystem.

Rather than viewing manufacturing challenges as issues for individual firms, CCIC approaches them as systemic problems requiring collective solutions. Skills shortages, fragmented support services, limited access to modern equipment and the difficulty SMEs face in scaling are not isolated issues — they are indicators of a system needing stronger connective tissue. CCIC has ...

At the recent TCI Network Global Conference in Dublin, Dr Nicola Watts (TCI Oceania) and Yeinni Andrea Patiño Moya (Colombia / TCI Network Board) led an energising workshop exploring two questions that resonated deeply across the global cluster community:

1️⃣  Would the global cluster and ecosystem community benefit from recognised accreditation for individual practitioners — the people who convene, integrate and lead across innovation ecosystems? 2️⃣ What should its purpose and scope be  — and which capabilities should sit with one person, be distributed across the ecosystem, or be supported through digital tools?

Cluster managers, facilitators and ecosystem integrators ...