‘Creating an atmosphere of activity’

Wimmera research will provide leaders and decisionmakers with untapped data to inform future regional development strategy, priorities and support.

Federation University’s Future Regions Research Centre, in Horsham, launched its report, titled ‘Revitalising Wimmera’s High Streets’ last week.

Researchers interviewed 150 retail, tourism, accommodation and transport small businesses across 25 Wimmera towns between October and May. They identified six ‘action foundations’ – workforce and staffing, planning and development, addressing viability and volunteerism, community connection, upskilling small business, and valuing the tourist experience.

The report identifies ‘quick-win’ opportunities, such as improved signs; and alignment to existing and emerging regional development work such as housing and migration strategies. It identifies opportunities for further work such as training pathways or region-wide childcare strategies.

Team lead and post-doctoral research fellow Dr Cathy Tischler said the research found that businesses have a high level of independence and self-motivation.

Many want to grow, but limitations such as staffing, housing and childcare challenge their aspirations. Time to work ‘on the business’ versus ‘in the business’ was challenged.

Dr Tischler said many businesses did not advertise vacancies, which meant it was difficult to capture accurate workforce needs and gaps and communicate this to governments, and to attract new residents to the region.

She said the COVID-19 pandemic had contributed to staffing challenges and left businesses feeling isolated.

She said skilled trades were spread thin – which posed significant risk for the future.

Dr Tischler said many businesses viewed their problems as individualised, when in fact they were experienced across the region – requiring a broader solution.

“While small businesses have a lot of enthusiasm and determination, community and regional efforts are also critical to supporting small businesses address bigger problems that they cannot solve alone,” she said.

Dr Tischler said the research provided a nuanced understanding of the unique challenges and opportunities across the region. This included the significant hours many people spent working at their business – often without taking a wage.

Dr Tischler said some businesses saw their role as providing a service to the community.

“Small businesses are absolutely critical to this region’s liveability. We can’t survive without them and we all know that – but how best to support them can be really challenging, because they are really independent, like doing their own thing and they can be really mistrustful of help and asking for help or funding,” she said.

“We shouldn’t assume what small businesses’ problems are, or why they sometimes fail to engage.”

Dr Tischler said some businesses, particularly in the tourism sector, were reliant on volunteer support, which ‘masked’ costs of running a business.

She said the level of volunteering support had surprised researchers.

“Certainly the region has a really strong volunteering culture – we are at twice the Victorian volunteering rate – but sometimes we saw that perhaps volunteerism is masking what could be an economic return. So there is more thinking and work to be done around some locations where that could be improved to bring additional benefits,” she said. Wimmera Development Association funded the research.

Executive director Chris Sounness said the regional development organisation would use the report as a key influencer of its new strategic plan.

A funding proposal, in partnership with the university, will use the report to highlight ‘hero’ businesses and seek to invest in them to ‘bring other businesses along’ and ‘create an atmosphere of activity’.

He said it offered insights into how to best support small businesses, and complemented ongoing migration strategy pursuits.

The association is the peak advocacy body behind many major, emerging projects in the region.

The Future Regions Research Centre is a social and economic research hub at the university’s Wimmera campus.

People can view the report via www. wda.org.au.