Macquarie Park Innovation District (MPID) is Australia’s first innovation district, home to the world class Macquarie University, headquarters of multi-national organisations, start-up, scale-up and established Australian businesses across a variety of high growth, high value adding sectors including financial services, professional, scientific, and technical services, property services, information media, telecommunications, and health.
MPID has been a remarkable economic success story, with a unique economic impact on NSW and Australia, not only by providing substantial direct, immediate economic outcomes, but also to growing its long-term economic prosperity. This is in part due to the created ‘network effect’ of having innovative, knowledge driven and interconnected industries in close proximity.
In late 2023, the New South Wales (NSW) Government exhibited the Macquarie Park Innovation Precinct – Stage 1 rezoning proposal (‘the rezoning proposal’). Macquarie University commissioned Biointelect to conduct an independent review of the evidence base regarding the rezoning proposal, to highlight the value of innovation activity at MPID, and the importance of considering the potential economic impact of the rezoning proposal on the long-term value of innovation ecosystem.
Drawing on a review of the published and grey literature and key stakeholder consultations, Biointelect reviewed the evidence base surrounding innovation districts, and assessed the current state of MPID against the key success factors for innovation districts, identified focus areas for future development and outlined a roadmap to realise the vision of an innovation-driven knowledge economy for MPID.
The report finds that the ‘deep tech’ industry profile at MPID, with its high levels of research and development (R&D spending), is a key economic growth engine for NSW and the nation. Further, it is vital that policy settings going forward must be maintained to ensure its future preservation and growth.
