About the Awards
The Northern Inland Innovations Awards are an annual event aimed at recognising and encouraging both individuals and organisations based in the Northern Inland region of NSW Australia, who are responsible for developing some of this nation's leading innovations across a broad range of industry sectors, including Agriculture/Horticulture, Tourism/Leisure, Professional and Retail Services, Manufacturing and Engineering, and Research and Education.
After the sucess of the previous awards, Regional Development Australia - Northern Inland is pleased to announce that the awards will be held again this year in Gunnedah.
Friday 28th October 2011
The Gunnedah Services and Bowling Club, 313 Conadilly Street, Gunnedah
6.00pm Finalists exhibit including apetisers and refreshments
7.00pm Dinner including awards presentation
Come and be part of the celebration to toast the innovative people and businesses in the Northern Inland New South Wales by attending the awards gala dinner and awards presentation. Tickets are available through our the
Dinner Registration section of our website.
Be sure to recognise the efforts of any innovative businesses and individuals you may know of in our Northern Inland NSW region by nominating them in the Northern Inland Innovation Awards 2011. Nominations are open until the 21
st of September, 2011, and more information can be found in the
Nominations section of our site.
What is Innovation?
Innovation is the application of creative thinking to initiate or introduce improvements in a skill, product, methodology or process.
The innovation must be:
- Unique to or developed in the Northern region
- Better than the status quo
- Sustainable in all applications
- Have a viable outcome
Objectives of the Awards
- Recognition of contribution made by business to economic prosperity and well being of the region’s communities and residents
- To showcase and promote initiatives, products and services
- To establish formal and informal linkages between key stakeholders who are capable of assisting in developing business innovation and creativity
- To represent the region as a dynamic, forward thinking, global participant.
Michael Crossland to be Guest Speaker for 2011
Michael Crossland will be the guest speaker for this years Regional Development Australia - Northern Inland Innovation Awards. His life is a widely honoured 'success against the odds' story, which he regularly presents to corporations, schools and universities worldwide.
At 11 months of age, he was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer of the central nervous system called Neuroblastoma. This tumour had taken over half of his body and survival was considered extremely unlikely. A little older and he was told that school and sport were out, due to the likelihood of infection and fatigue. Michael overcame adversity by striving for things others took for granted, like school.
After many hurdles and bed-ridden years, Michael made his dream of playing baseball in the USA a reality. He was drafted into the Australian Expos Baseball Team at the age of 15. While on a US tour with the Expos, he was drafted by a Texas baseball team (at age 16), with a scholarship deal to play college ball in Texas. Michael Crossland is now an accomplished businessman, with many top Australian and international accolades.
As with the Northern Inland Innovation Awards themselves, the region can gain much from the Michael Crossland story. Regional businesses face many hurdles which their city counterparts do not; from the tyranny of distance to broader market exposure, along with labour attraction and retention issues. Businesses and organisations need to have passion, motivation and innovation in order to seize a competitive edge, expand or be more efficient and effective.
