Support for councils wanting to open coworking spaces in regional Australia
Advisory service for councils looking to open a coworking space
Are you a regional council, TAFE or university exploring opening a coworking space to create connections between business, community and entrepreneurs?
Are you looking to build an ecosystem of soft (workshops, mentoring etc) and physical (buildings) infrastructure to spark innovation and nurture early stage entrepreneurs?
Our co-founder Paul Dillon has extensive experience setting up and operating coworking spaces, having launched Mallee Rising in North West Victoria and managed The Hive at South West TAFE on the Great Ocean Road in Victoria.
Contact us on the form below if you’d like to have an introductory call about how to setup and operate a sustainable coworking space that nurtures an ecosystem for innovators and entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneurial ecosystem: physical versus soft infrastructure
Planning, launching and then nurturing an entrepreneurial ecosystem takes into account two interdependent types of infrastructure: physical (bricks and mortar) and soft (people, expertise and events).
Physical infrastructure is important as it provides a meeting place for big thinkers, dreamers, entrepreneurs, innovators, industry, community and council to come together under one roof. In a regional community a new coworking space is likely to be integrated into an existing community space, such as inside a council asset like a library or town hall, or even an underutilised and unused asset. Something essential to consider with physical infrastructure is the need to provide out-of-hours access to the premises as entrepreneurial folk might be holding down a job during the day and working on their side-hustle in the evenings with likeminded people. Failure to open outside standard council office hours will adversely impact visitation and the long term sustainability of the initiative, hurting ecosystem development.
Soft infrastructure includes all of the capability building events, workshops, mentoring, programs and services necessary to bring an ecosystem to life and keep participants engaged. Early stage entrepreneurs will not survive with physical infrastructure alone: soft infrastructure is critical to developing confidence, capability and connections for the people the ecosystem is setup for.
We have a lot of thoughts, ideas and experiences having established regional ecosystems since 2017 and we’d love to share them with local government and regional stakeholders.
Like to discuss with us?
Contact us on the form below if you’d like to have an introductory call about how to setup and operate a sustainable coworking space and soft infrastructure that nurtures an ecosystem for innovators, entrepreneurs and the broader community.
Mallee Rising coworking space: photo gallery
