The new chairman of the Illawarra Innovative Industry Network (i3net) is keen to build on the work of the last board and grow the organisation so it can achieve more for the region.
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Emilio Salucci, of Transfield Services, is one of several new faces on the 2013 board.
Mr Salucci said the new board was developing a five-year strategic plan to help map the way forward.
He and i3net executive officer Sandy Haig said it would focus on goals and objectives for the short, medium and longer term.
Among the key objectives for 2013 are to expand the membership base to include representation from all local industry.
"I am excited about the new five-year plan which gives us a five-year vision, a three-year horizon plan and a clear direction for the next 12 to 18 months," Mr Salucci said. "It sets targets and actions and we want to stick to them. The former board did a fantastic job and we want to take it further and then hand that forward to the next board.
"We want i3net to be a one-stop shop in the Illawarra and help bring more projects in. There are already examples of more work coming into this area.
"The membership has really got the message about the importance of collaboration. They are working together and new work is being distributed and shared among members."
Mrs Haig said having new directors on the board was good.
"It means we have some fresh eyes on what i3net is doing," she said. "We are examining how we can get the direction of the network to benefit all local industry."
Ms Haig said another goal this year was to push out and develop more relationships with other regions to increase opportunities through co-operative arrangements.
"This new plan is good timing after all our achievements in recent years, which have given us a great base to work from," she said. "We are being quite ambitious but we believe what we are looking at in this five-year draft strategic plan is achievable. And we have good support from state and federal government."
Mrs Haig said the new board represented all members.
"There is representation on the board for everyone from sole traders to multinationals."
"It is exciting now we can deliver to a broader base."
Project workshops are likely to be introduced this year to help local industry tender for and win projects by putting a supply chain in place first.
