The month of May marks one year since Nelson Regional Development Agency (NRDA) CE Fiona Wilson made the move from Tasmania to Nelson with her family of six. We talk to Fiona about her experience moving to the region and NRDA’s mission for the local community and wider district.
You have lived in many different places; how does Nelson Tasman compare?
I have been lucky to live and work in some great places with very diverse environments. My work has always involved working with local communities to help support the economy, all facing similar challenges but for different reasons. Without upsetting any other places, Nelson Tasman region does have it over the rest on a few fronts – it was always our favourite place to holiday in New Zealand before we moved here.
What is one thing that pleasantly surprised you about the region?
That we can be skiing within a couple of hours in winter, kayaking within 15 minutes and picking fresh raspberries on Christmas Eve. There is so much to discover here.
What does economic development mean to you?
It is about helping communities to thrive. To build off the strengths of a place, and to grow the opportunities for jobs, income, business and investment in the region, and at the same time to try and tackle the challenges. Often those are closely linked. NRDA is a CCO (Council Controlled Company), funded by Nelson City Council, with additional funding from Tasman District Council and central government, tasked to promote and strengthen our place for people to do business, visit and live.
We must work with a long-term view, but also deliver short-term programmes and provide immediate response - Covid-19 has certainly needed that.
While one part of our team helps to attract research and development funding into companies, another is working to inspire kids into regional industry careers. We encourage events, promote our place for visitors and workers, support capability building among our businesses, provide data and information to help business planning, and attract investment into regional projects. We need to be very broad in our reach, which makes our work so interesting, but also very challenging. We are privileged to work with some amazing businesses in this region.
What is a key area of focus for the NRDA in the next six months?
We are looking forward to our region being fully open for business! We will keep our focus on attracting investment and supporting business connections. We will be profiling the huge strengths and opportunities in the region’s oceans-related industry, science and technology.
We are thrilled to be welcoming our international visitors and will continue to support many important regional events and major conferences that were delayed during lockdowns. As we head into winter, we’ve got a new campaign launching, encouraging people to enjoy, and be ambassadors for our region – our visitor, retail and hospitality businesses need us to be out and about!
What is your favourite thing about living in Nelson Tasman?
Finding new things all the time - including this couch, what a stunning view!
