Digital Innovation Festival 2018 Report 14 DAYS 250+ HOSTS 400+ EVENTS 2500+ SPEAKERS 15000+ PARTICIPANTS 25 October 2018
#DIFvic DIGITAL INNOVATION FESTIVAL VICTORIA 24 AUGUST - 7 SEPTEMBER 2018
2 WEEKS
15000 AUDIENCE
32 REGIONAL LOCATIONS
400+ EVENTS
250+ EVENT HOSTS
49 SPONSORSHIPS
8 REGIONAL PARTNERSHIPS
12 COUNTRIES
2500+ SPEAKERS
7 DIGITAL PLATFORMS
50:50 GENDER BALANCE
1000+ FOLLOWERS
The Digital Innovation Festival is an initiative of the State Government of Victoria www.dif.vic.gov.au
Executive Summary Digital Innovation Festival (DIF) is a unique initiative created to develop, demonstrate and promote the capability and connectedness of Victoria’s technology ecosystem through a range of events and activities across the State. In its third year, DIF2018 was bigger, broader and more compelling than ever. Powered by a new website, online events portal and marketed through social media platforms, the Festival achieved exponential growth in participation and in the number of hosted and DIF branded events. DIF2018 comprised more than 400 events over the period 24 August to 7 September, reaching new audiences and engaging an estimated 15,000 people at many locations across metro areas and regional Victoria. This Report outlines the key initiatives and achievements which characterised DIF2018 including a new online events platform and social media campaign. The Report highlights the efforts made to reach new audiences across multiple sectors and across regional Victoria. It also highlights the focus on international engagement and the opportunity DIF presents to build Victoria’s brand in relation to digital innovation DIF2018 was a successful initiative for the State, making a tangible, practical and positive impact on economic development, community building and jobs growth. DIF2018 was planned around the following four strategic goals that aim to promote Victoria’s digital economy:
Celebration
Inclusion and Growth
DIF2018 highlighted the extent to which Victoria innovates with technology. The Festival showcased the creativity of grassroots innovators, encouraged collaboration, celebrated achievement and stimulated positive and productive engagement with technology. Excellence was highlighted as Victorians recognised how technology and innovation is critical to our future.
DIF2018 reached out to individuals and businesses in all industry sectors across Victoria to stimulate awareness of how effective use of technology can stimulate competitiveness and create new jobs. DIF2018 delivered a substantial program across regional Victoria, including events focused on agriculture, tourism, energy, retail, transport, financial services, and youth and employment to name a few. Specific emphasis was given to how innovation benefits from gender and cultural diversity and how technology can promote social inclusion.
Advanced Capability DIF encourages interaction between research, business, education, entrepreneurs, local communities and government. It values and promotes thought leadership and looks to the future as it supports the local development of advanced technology capability. DIF2018 brought a sharp focus on the importance of advanced technology capability to Victoria’s priority industries, particularly in areas such as artificial intelligence, IoT, virtual and augmented reality, cybersecurity and blockchain. Student engagement was encouraged across the State and for those not able to attend events, DIF provided remote access to digital innovation content via the DIFVic website.
DIF2018 Report
International Engagement DIF seeks to engage international tech communities and promote Victoria as a centre for technology innovation. DIF2018 created an environment that attracted international events and visitors from at least 12 countries. New technology investments were announced, trade delegations hosted, policy discussions shared and global relationships formed and developed.
#DIFvic
Supporting the Ecosystem The Digital Innovation Festival (DIF) is a strategic industry engagement and investment promotion initiative. DIF supports Victoria's tech innovation ecosystem by connecting local companies, world class universities, entrepreneurial community and small businesses. DIF showcases the State’s success stories, explores and engages emerging technologies, leverages industry experts, builds talent and capability, connects startups and promotes Victoria as a vibrant centre for digital innovation. DIF is designed to highlight innovation, stimulate new relationships, generate business opportunities and foster job creation. Focusing on its strategic goals of Celebration, Inclusion and Growth, Advanced Capability and International Engagement, the Festival aims to position Victoria as a leading location for technology investment, creating a uniquely engaging environment for tech-related investors and local innovators. Major events in DIF2018 included Blockchain APAC, the AI Summit, Magnify World and Smart Cities Day focussing on thought leadership and building the State's technology capabilities and competitive advantage. An Innovation Community Leadership Program featured the inaugural Australian Co-Working Summit, attracting interstate and international attendees. Co-working spaces were activated across Victoria including in Ballarat, Wodonga, Horsham, Shepparton, Richmond and Footscray. Victorian entrepreneurialism was celebrated and supported through LaunchVic's YeahNah Conference - the showcase of home-grown entrepreneurs. Other events were supported by LaunchVic funded initiatives such as the Upstart Challenge in Geelong and Runway workshops in Ballarat. Startup Victoria’s flagship event Above all Human returned to Melbourne with over 2000 participants and 30 speakers. DIF subsidised tickets for regional entrepreneurs to attend and extend networks. At the centre of DIF2018 was the iAwards Pitchfest and Gala Dinner. Hosted by the Australian Information Industry Association, the iAwards is the premier awards program for Australia’s technology industry and attracted 1,000 participants including many from interstate. Keeping a focus on the importance of inclusion and the value of diversity, DIF2018 supported the Social Innovation Tech Summit. This enabled wide-ranging discussions of ethical issues and encouraged stakeholders across the ecosystem to explore how technology might be used positively to address societal disadvantage and ensure a sustainable environment. DIF2018 encouraged the tech ecosystem to reach and embrace regional communities resulting in successful events across regional Victoria such as the Bendigo Innovation and Invention Festival.
"Victoria continues to showcase our local companies and successful entrepreneurs at the annual Digital Innovation Festival." Minister for Innovation and the Digital Economy Philip Dalidakis
Hackathons attracted significant interest as part of DIF2018. Melbourne students solved problems for local businesses at the RMIT IoT Hackathon and Minister Dalidakis tested their VR prototypes (above). Ballarat GovHack involved hackers, hustlers, hipsters and hybrids in a competition to use open data to create new solutions for government. Morwell and Geelong had MAVHack, hosted by the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) focused on the issues of Transport - optimising technology to enhance roads; and Jobs and Business Creation for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal citizens who want to live and work locally.
Stakeholder Engagement
DIF recognises many and varied key stakeholders including the local tech sector, researchers, entrepreneurs, business people and associations in non-tech sectors, regional communities, educational institutions and students, local, state and federal government representatives and existing and potential international investors. Each of these stakeholder groups is important to the Festival and efforts were made to engage them effectively.
Open Call EOI Through an open call, Victorian organisations of all sizes and types were invited to be event hosts, to provide speakers, offer a venue or become a DIF partner. Social media promotions invited industry experts to share their passion for all things digital. Events submitted through the DIF website to be part of the festival were reviewed and published on the DIF events calendar. Events that were sponsored and/or funded became featured events, whilst events that companies added to the DIF calendar themselves were part of the curated program.
International Engagement DIF2018 engaged international tech communities and created an environment that attracted international events including Magnify World and Blockchain APAC which featured speakers from top tech companies globally. Additionally, technology experts were attracted to attend and speak at local events across the State exposing Victorian communities to thought leadership in relation to digital innovation. The experience was so positive that many of the international speakers have expressed interest in returning for DIF2019. Working with the Victorian Government Trade and Investment Offices around the world, DIF2018 attracted international visitors from at least 12 countries. A key event for many of these visitors was the 3rd annual Global Tech Leaders Dialogue (GTLD), hosted by the Victorian Government in partnership with the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA). The GTLD is a tech diplomacy initiative that positions Melbourne as the ideal location for open discussions about the impact of technology on represented economies. The event is an opportunity for technology leaders from participating governments and industry to share challenges, discuss opportunities, examine effective policy instruments and build relationships. It also showcases Victoria and the vibrancy of our digital innovation ecosystem.
Sector Growth DIF2018 engaged a variety of sectors around the application of digital technology and the opportunity it presented for business innovation, productivity growth, process efficiencies and enhanced competitiveness. Sectors engaged included agriculture, aged care, transport, tourism, digital health, creative industries, fashion, education, retail, financial services, food, advanced manufacturing, disability services, local government, new energy, small business and youth employment. Representatives of these sectors were involved with DIF as event hosts, speakers, sponsors and participants. Topics covered included emerging technology, business transformation, digital skills, regional growth, improving customer experiences and more.
A highlight of DIF2018’s international engagement program was a visit by a delegation from Malaysia and the announcement and signing of an Innovation Partnership between Pivot City, Geelong and Cyberjaya, Malaysia. (Photo Digital News Asia)
DIF2018 Report
#DIFvic
Key Initiatives DIF is designed to showcase and develop the quality of the State’s technology capability whilst stimulating awareness of the number of technology related activities happening organically across the State and encouraging engagement with those activities. DIF builds on and nurtures a grassroots movement already existing and seeks to make it discoverable and accessible to all Victorians while inviting participation from national and international audiences.
Website & Online Events Portal DIF2018 achieved significant growth in number of events and audience reach. This growth was largely due to the launch of a dedicated DIF website www.dif.vic.gov.au. The website attracted over 30,000 monthly views and was instrumental in raising the profile of DIF2018 to new audiences. The website hosted the DIF online events portal which was developed and delivered by local Melbourne SME, Everi. Everi’s AI-driven platform enabled the organising and categorising of DIF2018 events and allowed for the expansion of the crowdsourced program by 75% over DIF2017. Event host organisations were able to post and self-manage their events directly, saving time and resources. Events were categorised and searchable by a wider audience of potential participants. The result was that over the two-week period of DIF2018 more than 400 events were promoted. These events were held in many locations all across the State and included such activities as award ceremonies, major international events, investment roundtables, careers sessions, demonstrations, conferences, expos, product launches, hackathons, debates and hands-on workshops. Feedback from event hosts suggests that event audience numbers were significantly enhanced by promotion through the DIF Online Events Portal.
The DIF Hub The DIF Hub, located at ‘Curate Space’ in Little Collins Street, hosted 22 sessions over the 2 weeks of DIF2018. Continuing an initiative that was trialled in DIF2017, the DIF Hub provided an accessible option for people to participate in the Festival, without having to outlay funds for larger events. This model attracted students, startups and freelancers and allowed them to taste and explore various workshops and panel events. The affordability of the venue and program offered participants a coworking space in the CBD for $20 (day pass) or attendance bite-sized 90-minute sessions ($5 each). Each day had a theme ranging from Blockchain, Digital Careers, Smart Cities, Women in Digital Business, Skilled Migration, Digital Health and more.
Social Media In 2018 DIF launched dedicated social media channels raising the profile of the Festival to new audiences. From almost a zero base, good results were achieved across all channels from early August to the end of September.
LinkedIn engaged industry professionals whilst Twitter had the highest reach across all sectors. A priority was to engage a younger demographic, which was achieved through the DIF Instagram account. Insert graphics
Sponsorship As in previous years, DIF2018 leveraged Government sponsorship funding to attract and support key events aligned with the DIF goals. Government sponsorship was provided at varied levels to attract significant new, quality events, to support and encourage regional activities and to scale existing local events. Sponsorship allocations varied ranging from 5% of event costs for the IoT Hackathon to up to 35% of event costs for the Social Innovation Tech Summit. Sponsorship of up to $10,000 each was provided to support six regional events including Binary Shift in Gippsland, the Bendigo Innovation and Invention Festival, a ‘Mapping the Visitor Experience’ workshop in Ballarat, a ‘Future of Retail’ session in Benalla and an Innovation Community Leadership Program that hosted activities in Horsham, Ballarat, Shepparton, Richmond and Eynesbury. Further, major DIF events were sponsored by other Victorian Government agencies and industry. For example, Magnify World, a major international event focused on virtual and augmented reality was sponsored by Visit Victoria and the Melbourne Convention Bureau. LaunchVic sponsored a number of events as part of the Festival including its own entrepreneurs’ conference, YeahNah and Above all Human, which was hosted and funded by Startup Victoria
Online Events An extension of the DIF Hub was the launch of an online events series, broadcast in real time via Webinars and Facebook Live or on demand. These online events ensured that people located outside Melbourne’s CBD could access Festival content. DIF Online Events covered a range of topics such as digital careers, smart cities, women in digital business and blockchain technology. The events reached a wide audience and created a library of content which can be reused outside the period of the Festival to encourage engagement with digital innovation year-round.
#DIFvic Online Business Lunch 'n' learn Tuesdays was a 5-part webinar series presented exclusively for 2018 Digital Innovation and Small Business Festivals. Internationally recognised Online Business & Personal Branding Coach, Mary Henderson shared her insights on entrepreneurship and digital marketing with than 300 people across the series.
Regional Growth Committed to inclusion and growth, DIF2018 delivered an expanded program of events across regional Victoria, made possible with funding from the Connecting Regional Communities Program (CRCP).
Regional Partnerships In preparation for DIF2018 the DIF team travelled across the State to meet and engage with local stakeholders at five locations: Bendigo, Geelong, Ballarat, Traralgon and Wangaratta during May-June 2018. Supported by the regional network of Victorian Government Business Offices the roadshow raised awareness of DIF and of the opportunity to engage with digital innovation more generally. Local stakeholders including Victoria's Regional Partnerships were involved. This activated local chambers of commerce, libraries and community centres, education networks, coworking spaces and local government agencies and business groups to create their local 'DIF'. Regional Development Victoria officers ensured that eight of Victoria’s nine Regional Partnerships engaged actively with DIF2018, expanding the Festival’s reach to a wider regional audience. Regional stakeholders were encouraged and sponsored to drive and deliver a range of activities that met their local priorities and aligned with their emerging Digital Plans. Ultimately 32 regional locations hosted events as part of DIF2018 representing an increase of around 80% in participating regional locations over DIF2017. The events were varied in focus and reflected DIF goals and local digital plans and priorities, while actively engaging many of the State’s key industry sectors. Regional Victoria was host to over 120 events, engaging an estimated 3,000 individuals across the state, as part of DIF2018. A total of 45 regional events were financially supported by CRCP, including six sponsorships, 35 Regional Partnerships events and four events celebrating the opening and closing of the Festival. The DIF online events platform enabled a further 80 regional events to be crowdsourced and profiled to a wide audience.
Local Gippsland MP Harriet Shing spoke at Binary Shift pictured here with organiser Elena Kelareva
DIF2018 Report
Featured Regional Events AGTECH ON MY FARM – a workshop at Rupunyap for farmers to learn more about the power of data collection and application in the agriculture sector BENDIGO INNOVATION & INVENTION FESTIVAL – attracted more than 600 people across the four main activities including a two-day Symposium, the Festival of Failure, a design jam and a datathon BINARY SHIFT – Gippsland regional entrepreneurship conference expanded in its 2nd year doubled their audience and added a Gala Dinner DIGI TRY 18 – an expo of tech tools and educational applications for students at Wangaratta’s GoTAFE DIGITAL YOU – a careers afternoon for 60 local secondary students at Bairnsdale LLEN with games development workshops and hands-on activities from Monash University’s SensiLab and Girl Geek Academy (top photo) FUTURE GUIDE – Visit Ballarat's with Mt Clear College students programmed a humanoid robot guide (middle photo credit Kate Healy) FUTURE OF RETAIL – a dedicated workshop with local traders to explore online business strategies hosted by the Benalla Rural City Council INNOVATION COMMUNITY – a series of events activating local co-working spaces in Horsham, Ballarat and Shepparton NORTH EAST DIGITAL INNOVATION CONFERENCE AND EXPO – held in Wodonga offering workshops and information sessions to small business owners and entrepreneurs to support technology adoption TOM: BALLARAT – brought together Federation University, Ballarat Hackerspace and Ballarat Tech School for a hands-on workshop to explore how the maker movement can tailor solutions for people with a disability (bottom photo) USING QR CODES – a session hosted by the Colac Chamber of Commerce for the tourism sector describing how local companies can benefit from mobile technologies to enhance the visitor experience
'Discover Digital Victoria' Regional Media Hungry for success stories, regional media outlets picked up on the opportunity to feature technology in their local economies. The DIF showcased how digital innovation can help build job opportunities and revitalise regional communities. This resulted in significant media coverage across TV, radio, print and online. DIF2018 also saw the first radio advertising campaign undertaken. TRSN Regional Radio Package had 100+ radio spots on 12 stations in 10 regional towns, for a modest investment of $10k. Albury-Wodonga, Ballarat, Colac, Geelong, Hamilton, Horsham, Sale, Bairnsdale, Swan Hill, Warrnambool and Wangaratta.
Discover Digital Victoria from Ballarat to Bairnsdale, Warragul to Wodonga. The Digital Innovation Festival runs August 24 to September 7. An initiative of the Victorian State Government. Find out more at dif.vic.gov.au
#DIFvic
Branding Victorian Digital Innovation The Digital Innovation Festival contributes strongly to Victoria’s brand as the technology centre for Australia. DIF showcases excellence from across the Victorian digital community and tech sector and makes this capability discoverable locally and internationally. It presents Victoria’s value proposition as a leading location for technology related investment in a way that is vibrant and engaging to investors. The DIF brand and the breadth of DIF events and activities reflects the many and varied technology areas and benefits that digital innovation delivers for business and society. It plays on the differences inherent in Victoria’s talented entrepreneurs, technical experts and digital leaders. The organic nature of the DIF campaign ensures authenticity in what is a fiercely contested market.
‘Melbourne Tech City’ International Advertising Campaign DIF2018 presented the perfect backdrop for the launch for the Melbourne Tech City campaign. 1.08 million views of video interviews with Melbourne Tech Leaders and 209 media outlets picked up the story with a potential audience of 10 million. Some may well have found the DIF website as they searched for more info on Melbourne, which may explain why US based visitors were the highest cohort outside of Australia.
'Inside the DIF' Blog This year the DIF commissioned a series of articles exploring the major themes of the festival. These were featured in the 'Inside the DIF' blog and across social media. The articles included: What is Digital Innovation?; Emerging Technologies – Victoria’s impact on Digital Innovation; Using technology for real social impact; Workplaces and Work skills for the future.
'Victorian Invitation Program' Trade & Investment DIF2018 created an attractive opportunity for interstate and overseas tech companies to visit Victoria. Working with Trade Victoria a targeted invitation program to international delegations was developed which resulted in delegations from Malaysia and Singapore. Secretary Richard Bolt hosted the Global Tech Leaders Reception to over 150 industry leaders.
DIF2018 created a platform to market Victorian Digital Innovation and showcase local innovators iAwards 2018 Inspiration Award
Media Coverage DIF2018 media coverage increased across the State reaching an estimated audience of 500,000. International event Magnify World featured on Channel 9 Today Show and YeahNah in The Australian Financial Review and Smart Company, whilst regional events saw extensive take up across local newspapers and radio.
Great celebration followed the announcement of the “best of the best� Inspiration Award for 2018 which went to Victorian company, Blamey Saunders Pty Ltd for its product Facett, the world's first modular, self-fit and rechargeable hearing aids. Photo of the winning team with Minister Dalidakis.
3BA FM, Ballarat ABC Ballarat Breakfast ABC Goulburn Murray ABC Shepparton ARN Australian Financial Review Auto Talk Ballarat Courier Bendigo Advertiser Border Mail Buloke Times Channel 9 Today CIM Magazine CIO Australia
Deakin University Geelong Advertiser PC World Australia online RMIT University Smart Company Australia Southern Cross Victoria Ballarat Startup Smart The Age The Australian Wangaratta Chronicle Weekly Advertiser Wimmera Mail Times Win Gippsland Sale Women's Agenda
'DIF Champions' Mindset + Audience + Making a DIF
Showcasing our local talent was central to the Festival's strategic messaging for 2018. Profiling the people who live, work and play in Victoria, the DIF Champions campaign shared stories via video or interviews of key festival contributors. These videos formed the basis for social media contemt and launched the DIF YouTube channel. Michelle Mannering 'Hackathon Queen' was a 2018 DIF Champion promoting #DIFvic in her weekly #MishList to over 3,000 followers in the startup, e-sports, gamer and hacker communities. Other DIF Champions included Wayne Fitzsimmons AO, Pearcey Foundation Chair, Jon Quidim from the Blockchain Centre and Mary Henderson, Online Branding legend. Many more industry leaders were involved and will continue to be featured on DIF.tv.
DIF2018 Report
DIF2018 Metro and Regional Events supported by Victorian Government Event - Recipient Organisation - Location Above All Human - StartUp Vic - Melbourne CBD Aged Care Live Streaming - Horsham Agricultural Society, Sunnyside Lutheran Retirement Village - Horsham AgTech on my Farm - Partners in Ag - Rupunyap Ballarat Hackerspace Open Nights - Ballarat Hackerspace, Federation University - Ballarat Bendigo Invention and Innovation Festival - Bendigo Business Council - Bendigo Binary Shift - Binary Shift Inc - Warragul (Lardner Park) Blockchain APAC - Verosafe - Melbourne CBD C4NET Launch - DELWP - Melbourne CBD Creating Secure Passwords - Ballarat Library - Ballarat Cyber Debate - Australian Information Security Association (AISA), Deakin University - Melbourne CBD DIF Co-working Roadshow - The Play Lab - Shepparton Digi Try18 - Go TAFE, Charles Sturt University, Gaelen College - Wangaratta Digital AI Summit - Australian National Exhibitions Pty - Melbourne CBD Digital Pulse Launch - Australian Computer Society - Melbourne CBD Digital You - Bairnsdale LLEN, Monash University, Girl Geek Academy - Bairnsdale Drone Racing and Introduction - Australian Drone Nationals, Eastern Flyers, Eynesbury Homestead - Eynesbury ETCV Annual Conference - Education Technology Consortium Victoria (ECTV) - Warragul (Lardner Park) Global Tech Leader’s Dialogue - DEDJTR, AIIA - Melbourne CBD Global Tech Leader’s Reception - DEDJTR, AIIA - Melbourne CBD GovHack - City of Ballarat, Federation University, Ballarat Tech School - Ballarat iAwards Gala Dinner - DEDJTR, AIIA - Melbourne CBD iAwards Pitchfest - DEDJTR, AIIA - Melbourne CBD InfoXchange Digital Springboard - InfoXchange – Geelong, Warragul, Collingwood IoT Hackathon - RMIT, Thingworxs - Melbourne CBD LaTrobe Women in Business Dinner - LaTrobe Women in Business Network - Traralgon Leveraging the Maker Movement - TOM: Ballarat, Federation University, Ballarat Hackerspace - Ballarat Magnify World - Magnify World, NZ - Melbourne CBD MAVHack - Municipal Association Victoria (MAV) - Morwell Geelong Mind the Gap - Technology Geelong - Geelong North East DIF Conference & Expo - Wodonga Co - Working, Tier One Consulting - Wodonga Pearcey Foundation Heritage Event - Pearcey Foundation, Federation University - Ballarat Pearcey Oration - Pearcey Foundation - Melbourne CBD Pivot City/Cyberjaya (Malaysia) Innovation Partnership - Trade Victoria, Greater Geelong City, Selangor Government - Geelong Regional Innovation Community Leadership Program - CVP Strategy Group – Horsham, Ballarat, Bendigo, Eynesbury Small Business Innovation Pilot - COSBOA & Paddl Games - Outer Metro Area Social Innovation Tech Summit - Social Innovation Network - Melbourne CBD The Future of Retail - Benalla Rural City Council - Benalla The Guest Experience Map Workshop - Visit Ballarat - Ballarat Upstart Challenge Awards Night - Upstart Challenge, Runway Geelong - Geelong Using QR Codes to Enhance the Visitor Experience - Colac & District Chamber of Commerce - Colac YeahNah - LaunchVic - Melbourne CBD You Tube 101 Workshop - You Tube and Changer Studios - Castlemaine
Contact us dif@ecodev.vic.gov.au www.dif.vic.gov.au