Enterprise Connect is partnering with a number of organisations to provide manufacturers and other firms access to a series of free workshops designed to assist firms manage through the global downturn. About 100 workshops remain on offer nationally. Workshops will cover a range of topics such as cash flow management, sales and marketing strategies and inventory management.

Your Business Success is giving away Volume 2 of its Your Business Success Program, Money, Money, Money. The volume is worth $770 and outlines financial strategies for starting, managing and funding a business. The program, developed by the makers of the Channel 9 TV show Your Business Success, is in a self-paced format with DVDs and workbooks. Click here to enter the competition open only to AusIndustry e-bulletin readers.

The first of the closing dates for the Australian Export Awards loom in July. Western Australia, Victoria, Queensland and ACT applications close in July with other states and the Northern Territory closing in August. The awards recognise and honour exporters who have achieved sustainable export growth through innovation and commitment.

Innovative young Australians (18 to 35) who work or study in primary industries and with ideas to help shape the future of rural industries can win up to $50,000 under the 2009 Science and Innovation Awards for Young People in Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. This year, 12 winners will receive up to $20,000 each to undertake a project to explore an emerging scientific issue or innovative activity over 12 months. One winner will receive an additional $30,000 as the recipient of the Minister's Award. Winners can use their funding for a range of activities including research projects, industry visits or attending conferences.

The Australian Government is holding information sessions about its upcoming Cooperative Research Centres' 12th selection round. CRCs deliver significant economic, environmental and social benefits to Australia by supporting end-user driven research partnerships between publicly funded researchers and end-user. RSVPs close on Friday 12 June 2009 for information sessions in Melbourne on Tuesday 16 June 2009, Sydney on Wednesday 17 June 2009, Brisbane on Thursday 18 June 2009 and Canberra on Friday 19 June 2009. Hobart is staging a session on Tuesday 23 June 2009. The CRC's 12th selection round closes on Friday 14 August 2009.

AusBiotech 2009 will feature its Business Matching Program, which gives delegates the opportunity to request appointments with other delegates/company representatives attending the event in a meeting room atmosphere on a half hour or hourly basis. To be staged in Melbourne in October, AusBiotech 2009 is the premier biotechnology conference for the Asia Pacific region.

Click here to take part in a national survey on lifetsyle and consumption habits. Social scientists from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation will be examining what Australians think is important by finding out about consumption and time use patterns and how these relate to their ideas about a good life. The online survey asks consumers about their habits in areas such as transport, housing, energy and time and water use. The survey takes about 20 minutes to complete and you may find it useful to have your household water, electricity and/or gas bills handy.

The Australian Government's Geothermal Drilling Program offers dollar-for-dollar matching grants up to $7 million to support/offset the costs of drilling, reservoir development and flow testing of proof-of-concept projects. Round 2 is expected to open in June. Contact Michelle Sykes on 02 6276 1658 or michelle.sykes@ret.gov.au for further information.

The Export Market Development Grants scheme is the key Australian Government financial assistance program for aspiring and current exporters. There have been scheme changes that apply to applications lodged from Wednesday 1 July 2009, meaning businesses now incurring expenses in the 2008-09 grant year and intending to apply for EMDG from July 1 will be able to take advantage of the new rules. Those include:

• increasing the maximum grant by $50,000 to $200,000
• lifting the maximum turnover limit from $30 million to $50 million
• reducing the minimum expenditure threshold by $5000 to $10,000
• increasing the limit on the number of grants able to be received by a business from 7 to 8  

Powering Ideas: An Innovation Agenda for the 21st Century outlines the Australian Government's plans for the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research for the next decade, supported by a $3.1 billion funding increase in the next four years. The Budget package's business innovation measures include more support for world class university research, a Super Science Initiative focusing on national research strengths and a new Research and Development Tax Credit. Click here for Budget 2009-10 announcements and initiatives relating to the Innovation, Industry, Science and Research portfolio.

Recent AusIndustry announcements

The next round of the Australian Government's Green Building Fund will close to applications on Tuesday 30 June 2009. The first two rounds under Stream A funded 89 projects with $29.5 million in funding, to help commercial office buildings reduce their energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.