In February, SGS welcomed the appointment of Alison Holloway (MEnvPlan, BSc(Hons), MPIA) as a Director of the firm. Alison joined SGS in 2005 as a Senior Consultant in the Sydney Practice. Over the past two years as Practice Manager, Alison has led the team across the Victorian, South Australian and Tasmanian markets. She has been instrumental in steering our consulting arm to success in projects such as Sustainable Sydney 2030, the Housing Capacity Assessment for Melbourne's Established Areas and SGS being awarded the Consultant Planner of the Year 2009 & 2010 by the PIA (VIC Division).
Ross Larsen BBE (URP) (Dist), Grad. Dip. (URP)), has become an Associate Director. Ross has been with SGS for four years and in that time has proved himself to be diligent, very professional and a supportive leader in the Queensland office.
Since the last issue of Urbecon, Nic Gilbert (B Man (Real Estate & Development)) has joined the Brisbane team. Nic is a property economist, specialising in market reports, land demand studies and economic impact assessments. The Sydney team has welcomed Camy Kinloch and Muheed Jamaldeen. Camy Kinloch (BSc. Economics) is an economist with an interest in business case preparation, economic development and public policy research. Muheed Jamaldeen (BEcon (Honours) is a graduate economist whose research interests include economic development, land economics and econometric modelling.
The Melbourne team has been joined by James Maloney and Katy Frosdick. James Maloney (BEcon, B Econ (Hons first class)) is a graduate economist with specialised experience in econometrics. Katy Frosdick (BSc Business Econ, MSc Operational Research and Applied Stats, M Sc Environment and Sustainable Development) is experienced in project management, financial management, and forecasting, and economic appraisal techniques.
Brunei's Minister of Development officiated and witnessed a formal contract signing ceremony between the Centre for Strategic and Policy Studies (CSPS) and SGS Economics and Planning in Brunei on Tuesday 15th March. The event, which was covered by Brunei's television and print media, marked the beginning of a major study which SGS will undertake on behalf of CSPS to advance the Brunei Government's vision for a more diversified economy. The SGS study, known as the ‘Land Optimization Strategy for Industrial and Commercial Growth in Brunei Darussalam', will take 12 months to complete. A focus of the study will be on strategies for land use planning and administration to facilitate foreign direct investment attraction and economic diversification.
More information can be found at www.sgsep.com.au/news
At the 2011 National Awards for Planning Excellence, PIA has given the Social and Community Based Planning Award to SGS Economics and Planning, in conjunction with Environmetrics. ‘Dollars and Sense: The Community Value of Victorian Public Libraries' is a project that described the economic and social value of investment in library services in local communities.
SGS also contributed to a project, the PRECINX Landcom Sustainability Tool, which received the National President's Award for Kinesis, Simpson+Wilson.
Including: Indigenous public policy; considerations for Gladstone Region's sustainable economic development; privatisation; collaboration in economic development; and strategic transport investment.
These are available on the SGS website at http://www.sgsep.com.au/sgs-staff-presentations-and-papers