If there is one thing that defines the Sunshine Coast, it would be our entrepreneurial spirit reported Charles Hodgson from View News. From start-ups to established businesses who have grown and flourished on the Sunshine Coast, they all understand the importance of connection, collaboration and being agile enough to adapt in order to not just survive but thrive.
And when COVID-19 reached our shores earlier this year, researchers from the University of the Sunshine Coast, who were midway through Year Two of a three-year study measuring innovation across the Sunshine Coast, knew the results would be very telling indeed.
Lead researcher of the Regional Innovation Benchmark Research Dr de Villiers Scheepers, Senior Lecturer in Entrepreneurship and Innovation at USC said, “what came through very clearly was that businesses in the region were agile enough to be able to adapt quickly when COVID-19 hit.
“For many companies, their approach to innovation changed as a result of COVID-19. Rather than simply focussing on new ideas and innovations, many of the businesses surveyed focussed on making changes that added value to their customer base,” she said.