Federation University's Future Regions Research Centre published its Revitalising Wimmera's Main Streets report on Thursday, August 11.

The report gives a snapshot on small businesses in the region through interviews with retail, tourism and accommodation providers.

Researchers spoke to 150 different businesses across 25 towns in the region between October 2021 and May 2022, about what challenges they have faced, and what they needed to prosper.

READ MORE:

Lead researcher Dr Cathy Tischler said the report provided a much-needed insight into the effects of COVID and a dwindling workforce in the region.

"The conversations we have had with small businesses have helped identify areas they think are urgent and critical for their support.," she said.

"It is something that hasn't been done at this scale in our region for a really long time and it really adds to the picture of what is going on with business."

In the report the majority of business owners said they were time poor, and lacked access to skills and information to support business planning.

The report also found varying levels of local government support for businesses across the Wimmera Southern Mallee.

Employment was a key issue, with many business owners believing that issues of staffing were individual problems for individual businesses - as opposed to a structural problem for the region.

The report also noted a lack of digital engagement from small businesses meant often vacancies were not advertised online, and limited business reach.

Dr Tischler said many of the business owners she had spoken to were not running their business for purely economic reasons, rather to provide a service to their community.

"I didn't expect them to be quite to focused on the value that they provided to the community," she siad.

"It wasn't about having a business to make money, it was about being there in their community and providing the local people with a service.

"I think that is a real point of difference that we have in the Wimmera."

The report was compiled in partnership with the Wimmera Development Association.

Dr Tischler said the report would be used to inform specific projects the WDA was working on in the short-term, such as its Regional Migration Plan, as well as further advocacy for regional issues.

"There are some really specific projects that the Wimmera Development Association are following through," she said.

"There is some further gaps that were identified that need to be addressed as well, so advocacy about some of those gaps so that we can provide a better set of supports in the region.

"I think the work that we have done will be really critical for that."

Wimmera Development Association chief executive Chris Sounness said Dr Tischler and the Future Regions Research Centre had been funded to complete another report in two years.

"There is a clear gap between what businesses are saying and data in this space, with real employment needs in the region underrepresented, because there is no value to businesses in advertising for staff in tight markets," he said.

"Policy makers often rely on the data to assess our region's needs - so this conversation must change"