Council representatives presented Pictonites with their vision for a smart and connected region on Wednesday.

About 25 people from the Picton Business Group and the Picton Forum listened to economic anthropologist Amanda Lynn explain the Marlborough District Council's "smart and connected Marlborough" draft plan at the Mercure Hotel and gave feedback for the final vision.

Organisers hoped to develop Marlborough's economy through better business relationships and innovative production, an expansion on the region's primarily production-based economy, which the council hoped to begin setting up next year.

It was the first seminar to be held outside of Blenheim on the plan and the next will be held in Havelock on September 19.

Marlborough District Council strategic planning and economic development manager Neil Henry, who heads Smart Business Marlborough, said the seminars all covered the same ground and were intended to get the community involved in the region's future.

Business owners could work closer together to generate ideas and products, but the biggest change could be expanding Marlborough's production-based economy to an innovative one.

"There's a lot of things that we should've benefited from but haven't," Mr Henry said.

"Amanda's research is looking at where we can expand and develop as a region."

An "innovation stocktake" was required to show that there was more to Marlborough than wine and aquaculture which only makes up about 25 per cent of the economy, he said.

However, the region's expertise in those areas could also be turned into marketable product.

It was important to include environmental goals along with economic in the vision and it was hoped that businesses would consider the plan when making choices about their future.

"We've never had anything to asses our success against in the past.

"This will provide a set of objectives for the area to say where we want to go and how we want to get there," Mr Henry said.

"The world is always changing, but this will make sure we are on the right track together."

He said feedback from the Picton seminar was positive toward the plan and the council would consider all input before beginning its implementation process likely to begin next year.

- The Marlborough Express

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