Our Role

  • To promote a collaborative culture in Fishermans Bend and to deliver activations and events that contribute to collaboration and network building

  • To support startups, scaleups and creative industries in Fishermans Bend - particularly those in the advanced manufacturing, engineering and design sectors

  • To bring together the tools, skills and partnerships to utilise existing buildings and sites while the precinct is in transition

We Do This By…

  • Making underutilised spaces available, affordable and fit for purpose for emerging and growing industries

  • Brokering connections, co-ordinating and being the point of contact for short and medium-term activity and opportunities within Fishermans Bend

  • Facilitating collaboration and network building by connecting key players – such as local businesses, investors, researchers, creative leaders and entrepreneurs – to Fishermans Bend, and to each other

  • Experimenting with design, process and the built environment

  • Bringing new, diverse innovators and disruptors into the ecosystem

  • Showcasing the creative utilisation of existing properties and underutilsed assets

  • Demonstrating a ‘Learn by doing’ approach, to inform the iterative design and function of longer-term investments

Our Philosophy

  • Lower barriers to entry

    We make Fishermans Bend accessible for startups and short-to-medium term opportunities through the low-cost provision of space and resources (including access to smarts and capabilities)

  • Start small and build momentum

    We embrace momentum and exist to make things happen quickly. We start small and prioritise projects that produce outcomes sooner rather than later, so we break down large scale sites, problems and challenges into smaller achievable and more manageable tasks that can be done today, and we start doing it (or support others to)

  • Invest in collaboration

    We facilitate collaboration between partners and stakeholders and look to foster collaboration opportunities for all projects we support. We also look to solve problems that fall between different organisations, roles and responsibilities and promote collective approaches to tackle them

  • Learn by doing and grow

    We demonstrate a ‘learn by doing’ approach and build on learnings and successes by moving into more ambitious opportunities as capacity grows.

  • Support diversity

    We celebrate and support a diversity of ideas, initiatives, partners and participants to get involved in Fishermans Bend.

  • Experiment, activate, interact and evolve

    We inform the long-term development of the wider urban renewal area by testing ideas in practice. We support a living lab of small-scale experiments and activities with the potential to iterate and evolve to inform bigger plans and projects for the future

  • Visibility

    We make innovation in Fishermans Bend visible to a broad audience, by putting experimentation and the process of innovation on display and inviting a network of partners, collaborators, investors and audiences to get involved

Our Team

  • Marcus Westbury | CEO

    Marcus is an internationally recognised urbanist, social innovator, writer and media maker working at the intersection of cities, culture, innovation, place and creativity.

    From 2016 to 2021 Marcus led the redevelopment of the former Collingwood Technical School in Melbourne into Collingwood Yards — a diverse and dynamic creative precinct that opened in 2020.

    Prior to that Marcus was the founder of the multi award winning Renew Newcastle and Renew Australia projects. These projects have revitalised main streets, launched hundreds of creative and community projects in empty and abandoned buildings and reopened more than a hundred vacant shops and offices across Australia.

    Marcus has been an advisor, consultant and board member to local, state and federal governments. He is the author of the book Creating Cities and was the writer and presenter of ABC TV series including Bespoke and Not Quite Art. Marcus was 2016 Westpac Foundation Social Change Fellow and is an Honorary Fellow of Monash University.

  • Kate Spencer | Partnerships, Networking and Engagement Lead

    Kate is a designer and creative producer, with over 20 years’ experience shaping and overseeing the strategic and creative direction and delivery of award-winning cultural and place-based projects in Australia, Malaysia, Canada and Mexico.

    She has worked with clients, partners and collaborators from across the cultural, heritage, creative, tourism, built environment and education sectors to realise bespoke projects that build community and bring experiences and stories to life.

    Before joining FB IDEAs, Kate led a program of creative placemaking and community engagement in Fishermans Bend for the City of Melbourne, in partnership with the Victorian Government.

    Prior to that, Kate supported a team of producers at the City of Melbourne to revitalise 40 CBD laneways with public art installations as part of the Flash Forward project. Kate was also an inaugural Development Partner at RMIT University’s Centre for Future Skills and Workforce Transformation and continues to be involved as an Adjunct Senior Industry Fellow.

  • Bec McHenry | Property Partnership Lead

    Bec is an experienced placemaker with a passion for optimising assets and property portfolios. She has spent the last 15 years advising the property industry and government on how to achieve meaningful place outcomes through activation.

    She deeply understands the commercial and strategic implications of place activation landlords, as well as the compliance, risk and budgeting approaches required to bring sites to life in a way that delivers return on investment.

    She enjoys any opportunity to work with owners and collaborators across all areas of the property industry to bring sites to life in a way that delivers economic, social, place, environmental and biodiversity benefits. She is motivated to perfect the art of making the complex simple, and creating great places where people and planet thrive.

    As the proud founder of Australia’s second ever B Corporation, she values profit and purpose equally, committed to leaving the planet better than she found it.She is committed to working collaboratively with owners, helping to unlock shared value from under-utilised land and property for the future of Fisherman’s Bend.

Our Board

  • Meredith Sussex AM | Chair

    Meredith is an expert on city planning and is committed to community engagement in the development and implementation of public policy. She is currently the chair of the Fishermans Bend Development Board in Victoria. Meredith has also been a non-executive director of several boards, including Housing Choices Australia (a national community housing provider), the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute and the Port of Melbourne. She has also held senior positions in the Victorian State Government, including Deputy Secretary of the Department of Premier and Cabinet.

  • Bernadene Voss

    Bernadene is a business and community leader with expertise in local government, community consultation, not-for-profits and start-ups. A passionate advocate for local issues, Bernadene is the current President of the Fishermans Bend Business Forum and was a former Councillor and four-time Mayor of the City of Port Phillip. She is currently the CEO of the not-for-profit organisation, ‘Big Group Hug’, who support families and children facing hardship. Bernadene is also a trustee on the Southern Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust, Caulfield Racecourse Reserve Trust, a Board member of a children’s centre and on local sporting club committees.

  • Bryn Davies

    Bryn is an urban renewal and economic development specialist with experience across Australia and in emerging economies. His practice seeks to build momentum towards long-term strategic visions through the delivery of tactical demonstration projects that seed transformation and change. He has worked in government and private consultancy, and is currently the manager of economic strategy at the City of Sydney. Prior to that, Bryn held a key role in the Fishermans Bend Taskforce with the Victorian Government.

  • Lauren Morrey

    Lauren is a skilled innovation strategy specialist, responsible for leading the Development team, the early-stage investing and program function of Breakthrough Victoria. She brings years of extensive experience in commercialization and innovation from her time in the innovation labs NAB and ANZ, and at Victorian based start-ups and unicorns, including Culture Amp. Lauren is a founder, investor and holds an MBA from Melbourne Business School.

Legal Structure

FB IDEAs is a non profit Company Limited by Guarantee established for the purpose of undertaking the FB IDEAs pilot. Our constitution is available here.