This talk explores innovation ecosystems through the 11 "C's" framework, focusing on assessing whether each component exists in appropriate proportions for Northern Australia's development.

Drawing parallels with natural ecosystems, we'll examine how innovation networks function as complex adaptive systems requiring balance among interdependent elements. Just as natural ecosystems maintain health through producer-consumer equilibrium, innovation ecosystems thrive when their components exist in proper proportion.

We'll introduce "ecosystem physiology" – how resources, information, and value flow through innovation networks – and explore three symbiotic relationships that must be balanced:

Mutualism: Where participants benefit each other
Commensalism: Where some benefit without harming others
Parasitism: Where imbalanced relationships drain resources
The presentation will analyze each ingredient through this biological lens:

Community: Founder networks creating mutualistic relationships
Capital: Investment functioning as ecosystem energy flow
Connectors: Facilitating resource exchange like mycorrhizal networks
Coaches: Serving as "keystone species" with disproportionate positive effects
Captain: Leadership providing regulatory mechanisms
College: Primary producers of talent and knowledge
Calendar: Events creating seasonal rhythms for engagement
Civic: Government support establishing environmental conditions
Customers: Primary consumers driving energy circulation
Culture: Acting as the ecosystem's immune system
Classroom: Physical spaces providing specialized habitat niches

For each ingredient, we'll provide diagnostic tools to determine whether you have too much, too little, or just the right amount to foster sustainable symbiotic relationships, concluding with rebalancing strategies that account for complex interdependencies.