Sunshine Coast Council is in the running for two national economic development awards.
One of only a very few organisations across Australia to receive double honours, the council is a finalist in two categories of the 2024 Economic Development Awards (EDA) for Excellence.
The local government authority’s Economic Development Branch is in the running for a national award for its first-ever Buy Local Day initiative in the category of Economic Development Recovery & Resilience, while the Testing Tech in Paradise campaign is a finalist in the Economic Development Through Partnerships & Collaboration category.
Mayor Rosanna Natoli said being a finalist in these awards demonstrated Council was leading the way in economic development initiatives.
“This recognition is a testament to the everyday work Council officers undertake for our community,” Mayor Natoli said.
The Buy Local Day initiative was in response to the need for local business recovery.
It was an eight-week initiative, which culminated on June 22 with a region-wide Buy Local Day event, which encouraged the community to support local businesses.
The event, which built on various Buy Local campaigns Council had delivered over the past few years, generated significant engagement with over 10,000 businesses involved.
Mayor Natoli said Council’s Testing Tech in Paradise campaign, led by the Investment, Trade and International unit, aimed to attract technology businesses to the Sunshine Coast and stimulate job growth.
She said to promote the program, the campaign produced a multi-channel marketing effort including a downloadable whitepaper, ideation sessions, webinars, tech tours and a tech summit that connected more than 100 international and local industry leaders.
The winners will be announced at the EDA national conference in Melbourne on October 17.
