the system of information gathering about the regional environment as well as about the successes and failures of respective activities of tertiary education institutions is limited in scope and quality there is a lack of information and robust data for example in terms of innovation performance in the private sector student progress graduate employment graduate destinations outmigration as well as the breadth and scope of workbased learning activities which make it difficult to evaluate the outcomes of local policies and institutional practices there is a need to develop collaboration across government private and public tertiary education sector and to share extend and scale up the many good practice examples that are already in place stronger incentive structures would help mobilise tertiary education institutions and their staff for local and regional development in order to improve regional development outcomes more robust data is required for example in terms of student records