Viable and Vibrant Regional Communities, with Queensland Chief Entrepreneur, Julia Spicer

Hi #SmartCommunity friends, welcome back to the Smart Community Podcast. This month we are highlighting Smart Regions with two fantastic guests. If you haven’t yet listened to our interview with Tim Neale in the last episode, I definitely recommend listening to it after this one. In this episode, I have a wonderful chat with repeat guest and Queensland Chief Entrepreneur, Julia Spicer. We first had Julia on the podcast way back in Episode 152, which was in January 2020. (The beforetimes!)

In this episode, Julia and I discuss what a Smart Community means for her and what has changed for Queensland regions since January 2020. We talk about the COVID experience and how it can teach us about what rural communities experience in prolonged drought and other parallel type experiences. Julia tells us about the generosity of spirit that she sees coming through in regional Queensland, and what COVID has taught us in terms of regional and industry level resilience. 

Julia and I explore the role of technology and data when responding to crisis, and the role of government in supporting people and businesses to modernise. We talk about the absolute necessity of internet connectivity and the challenges and opportunities for Smart Communities in regional areas. Julia then tells us about the projects she’s involved in as part of her role with the Office of the Chief Entrepreneur in Queensland, as well as the emerging trends of global workforce shortages and the need for sovereign capability in Australia to support supply chains and industries.

We finish our chat discussing how everyone in Queensland can leverage the opportunity of the Brisbane 2032 Olympics, even if you think it doesn’t apply to you. As always, we hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it. 

Connect with Julia via LinkedIn or with Engage and Create Consulting on Facebook and Instagram @engageandcreate

Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community 

Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube

The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital.