News

Here in South Australia, we are at a turning point in our economic history, with exciting new opportunities for re-industrialisation as we emerge from the impacts of COVID-19 and embrace local manufacturing in a low-carbon industrial future.

Building on our strong domestic manufacturing sector and increasing South Australia’s economic complexity is fundamental to our continued participation in the global economy.

South Australia’s Advanced Manufacturing Strategy guides industry and government collaboration to grow manufacturing, and drive the state’s economic transition towards a knowledge-based, resilient and greener economy.

Embedded in the Department of State Development, the Industry Capability Network South Australia (ICN SA) is one of six strategic enablers of the Strategy, increasing manufacturers’ access to new and existing markets.

ICN's purpose is to act as an intermediary between buyers and suppliers, developing local supply chains through:

• the ICN Gateway platform, which connects local suppliers with buyers through an expression of interest process and a local supplier capability database
• supporting project proponents to structure their procurement process to maximise local participation
• supporting SMEs to enhance their capabilities and satisfy the rigorous information requirements, accreditations and technologies required by major project proponents.

ICN has made significant investments in software to maximise local industry participation – not only through Gateway, but through other tools such as Perspective, which is designed to increase understanding of business capabilities across regions and sectors, assist with planning procurement, and identify gaps in local supply.

ICN SA used Perspective to map the state’s hydrogen sector supply chain, identifying companies with capability to supply to the sector, gaps in supply, and potential industry uses of hydrogen.

Since its inception, ICN SA has facilitated $3.3 billion in project wins to local firms, and has been an important part of South Australia’s industry and policy landscape.

Whether it’s advocating for domestic production and identifying local capability, advising businesses on ways to address their capability gaps, identifying potential buyers and bid for major projects, helping buyers meet SA Industry Participation Policy obligations, and maximising local supplier engagement, ICN is a critical element in creating sovereign industrial capability.