Melbourne PURE has undertaken a series of case studies of regionally-significant initiatives in which higher education institutions (HEIs) have been engaged. The purpose of the case studies has been to understand better the conditions and the factors whichshape effective engagement by HEIs with key stakeholders in the Melbourne region. Each case study has been chosen because it contributes to a larger theme which has been identified as a key priority for Melbourne: regional innovation systems; ‘green’ jobs’; and social inclusion and active citizenship.

This paper has two purposes: firstly, to provide some conceptual framing of the ‘green’ jobs theme: what its key elements are; and, how higher education institutions (HEIs) are relevant. Secondly, to draw together the insights from the series of case studies which have been undertaken on ‘green’ jobs in the Melbourne region, in October-November 2009.

This area of the work has been interesting because of the incipient nature of most of the initiatives which have been explored. In conducting the regional innovation systems case studies, there was little difficulty in finding potential interviewees. However, with most of the ‘green’ jobs initiatives, at most two or three people could be identified to explore each initiative. Therefore, this paper incorporates the summary of each of the ‘green’ jobs case studies that were identified for inclusion in this project.