Dunedin's fledgling sports analysis industry is in need of more funding and Animated Research Ltd managing director Ian Taylor is urging the Dunedin City Council to become more flexible in its funding approach.
Sports analysis tools were being designed and manufactured on "kitchen tables" in Dunedin for next-to-nothing but the developers needed financial help to expand, he said yesterday.
ARL was the recipient of a DCC industry project fund which must have a minimum of three industry participants collaborating on one project.
Each of the participants must contribute to the costs, with the DCC funding about 70% of the total cost.
Mr Taylor credited his grant for ARL recently winning the contract to supply television graphics to the Nine Network, of Australia, for the next three years, and a series of other associated cricket contacts.
Without the help of the grant, ARL would be two years away from being able to bid for the Ashes cricket contract.
Mr Taylor is suggesting that because the sports analysis industry is so small, the DCC consider allowing one large company to apply for the grant.
Instead of having the two other smaller partners using valuable research and development money on paying their share of the total cost, the larger company could then hire the smaller companies and tap their expertise at the same time as providing some cash flow.
"These companies have no reason to hire anyone else to do their job because only they can do it. We can affect to play the role of the bigger company, thereby creating more job opportunities in the city."
As an example, Mr Taylor used a local company, Igtimi, owned and operated by Brent Russell.
ARL had been providing graphics for America's Cup races since 1992 and until 2006 had always had to use equipment from other overseas companies.
"It never worked. When Brent worked for us, his job was to keep other people's equipment working to keep our graphics going. We had some terrible days."
When Mr Russell wanted to set up his own business, Mr Taylor told him that he knew what ARL needed in tracking equipment and his one-sentence brief was to go and build it.
The equipment developed by Mr Russell was now regarded as the best in the world and Mr Taylor left soon for China before flying to England to present Mr Russell's tracking device to the board of ISAF, the International Sailing Federation.
"I have a day to spend with the board to talk about how this will change their sport because of the accuracy we can get. It makes no difference to them if we are in Dunedin."
The same tracking device had been used in the last four international golf majors, providing "flawless results" when plotting golf balls hit by the leading players, Mr Taylor said.
Mr Russell said the device would be used at major golf tournaments around the world every weekend between now and December.
However, it would not have been developed without the help of Mr Taylor, who sourced the seed money to get the project started.
"If Ian had not done that, we were in no position to develop this technology," he said.
Mr Taylor said small "kitchen-table" developers worked for practically nothing and it would make no sense to bring them into a partnership but then not pay them for their work.
Mr Russell said many, if not all, of the small developers had graduated from the University of Otago and decided to stay.
"We have created an exciting environment."
The concept of turning Forsyth Barr Stadium into a world-class sports analysis centre would keep more graduates here and attract students from around the world to Otago, he said.
DCC economic development manager Peter Harris did not rule out some help for the smaller technology companies being available in the future but stressed the industry project fund was set up for a specific reason.
"It's more about established businesses working together rather than helping new businesses. It's not for businesses with no money at all, like start-ups. This fund doesn't fit that right now."
The DCC has funded tens of thousands of dollars worth of projects since the contestable fund was set up about two years ago, he said.
The object was to get businesses in the same industry to collaborate.
In a small economy, such as Dunedin, if businesses did not collaborate, they would not survive.
If the three partners had to put up some of the funding themselves, the commitment was there to succeed.
"When you are dealing with ratepayers' money, you can't throw it at a business that might disappear tomorrow. We have to say no to stuff we would like to say yes to because the risk is too high," Mr Harris said.
Mr Taylor's idea for seed funding was worth pursuing, though, he said.
