Session 2 The Guidelines

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Session 2The Guidelines

• An LGSA Training Initiative.

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• Volume 1 Corporate Planning and Reporting
• Benefits of a strategic approach
• Corporate strategic planning
• Resource planning
• Delivery and operational planning
• Case studies

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Whats In Volume 1 of the Guidelines
P 3
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Purpose of Guideline 1

• To Give Councillors and Council Officers
• Good reasons to better integrate NRM into
  Corporate Planning and Reporting
• Understanding of the broader NRM context
• Principles and practices for better Corporate
  Planning and Reporting
• Options for representing NRM within the Corporate
  Planning and Reporting process
• A description of the common challenges
• A range of current examples
• Tools, information and resources to support each
  of the above

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The Broader NRM Planning Framework
Current Management Planning and Reporting
Provisions

• Three year Management Plans updated annually
• Reported on annually
• Annual State of the Environment report
• 2006 review of existing system led to
  recommendations for change on corporate reporting
  

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DLG Proposed Integrated Planning Reporting
Reform Framework
P 10
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Draft Timetable For Implementation

• Proposal three groups of Councils over three
  years
• Group 1 CSP adopted by 31 March 2010.
• Delivery Plan before 1 July 2010
• Group 2 CSP adopted by 31 March 2011.
• Delivery Plan adopted before 1 July 2011
• Group 3 CSP adopted by 31 March 2012.
• Delivery Plan adopted before 1 July 2012

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Progress of the Process

• Bill went to first reading on Thursday 25 June
  2009
• Second Reading Speech September 2009?
• Legislation by end of 2009?
• Guidelines and Manual comments closed 17 July 09

• It will happen, so
• How do we integrate NRM into the Community
  Strategic Plan?
• An exceptional opportunity to get NRM on the
  agenda across your Council

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Integrating Corporate Planning and Reporting and
NRM (Chapter 3)
The First Steps

• An overview of NRM in Council Operations
• An overview of Corporate Planning and Reporting
• What is it for?
• What makes successful corporate planning and
  reporting/
• What makes it difficult?
• How does Corporate Planning and Reporting deliver
  outcomes and benefits for NRM?

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What Makes Successful Corporate Planning and
Reporting?
Page 13
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What Makes It Difficult?

• Political accountability
• Time horizons
• Local focus
• Variety of responsibilities
• Difficulty of forecasting
• Establishing priorities
• Setting targets
• Monitoring performance
• Strategic skills
• Lack of control

P 14
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A Once In A Generation Opportunity to Get NRM On
the Agenda.

• LGSA Research identified a lack of resources as
  one of the greatest challenges for NRM at the
  local level
• If we cannot integrate NRM into the Corporate
  Planning Process then that is most unlikely to
  change
• Guidelines talk about the concepts of cascading
  and integration in relation to Corporate Plans
  eg nothing in your lower level plans ( action
  plans) will exist if they are not achieving part
  of the higher level vision. (P 15)

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Opportunities to integrate
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Case Study
Lake Macquarie City Council
P 17 20
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Community Strategic Plans (Chapter 4 )
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Community Strategic Plans (Chapter 4 )

• Features and Benefits of a Community Strategic
  Plan
• What makes a good information and research
  process
• Background research
• Community Engagement
• Information from other agencies
• Ideas for selecting your key issues
• Incorporating NRM Into visions, objectives,
  strategies and measures
• Case studies
• \

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Getting Good Information
Background Research
A Wide Range of Sources Including,

• National strategies and policies
• NSW State Plan
• Regional strategies
• Local Catchment Action Plan
• Previous State of the Environment and annual
  reports
• Available community survey information
• Outcomes from Councils regional community
  engagement activities
• Any Council plans with relevance to NRM

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Case Study - Background Research

• Randwick City Council
• Background Paper No 5 Looking After Our
  Environment
• Paper covers
• Trends
• Demographics
• Responsibilities
• NRM issues
• Council directions

P 23
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Getting Essential Information
Community Engagement

• Need a Community Engagement Strategy
• Most Councils already involved in Community
  Engagement How effective is it?
• Case Studies
• Liverpool City Council
• The Hills Shire
• Sutherland Shire
• Orange City Council

P 24 26
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Getting Useful Information
Forming partnerships with other Agencies
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Case Study
Once You Have Gathered Your Information

• Dealing with Community Wish Lists
• Port Stephens Council
• Priority Decision Making Tool

P 28
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Putting Your Community Strategic Plan Together -
Incorporating NRM
CSP will need to contain
Measurements must include measurable targets.
P 29 31
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Resource Planning (Chapter 5)
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Resource Planning (Chapter 5)

• Three Resource Pans will be required.
• Financial Plan (10 year)
• Workforce Management Plan (4 year)
• Asset Management Plan (10 year)

This Chapter provides recommendation and advice
on incorporating NRM into each of these plans.
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Benefits of Integrating NRM into Resource Plans
Resource Planning (Chapter 5)
P33
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A Lack Of Resources the Main Challenge
Councils face significant resourcing challenges.
(LGSA 2008 survey)

• Over 75 of Councils derive less than 25 of the
  funds they need for NRM from their annual
  operating budget
• 11 of surveyed Councils rely solely on external
  grants
• 40 of surveyed inland Councils plan to have low
  levels of expertise
• 70 of surveyed Councils have less than adequate
  or no human resources to manage their natural
  resources

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Getting Some Money (Chapter 5)
Financial Planning

• Linked to CSP
• Tools within longer term financial plans (Revenue
  Policies)
• Special rate variations
• User Charges
• Development Contributions
• Case Studies p 35 36

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Case Studies
Raising money for NRM action

• Mosman
• Eurobodalla
• Harden
• Ku-ring-gai
• Dubbo

P 35 - 39
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Getting Some People (Chapter 5)
Workforce Planning

• Staff and councillor skills and training
• Performance management
• Skill shortages
• Working with volunteers
• Case Studies
• Armidale
• Hornsby
• Shoalhaven

39 - 42
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Are Your Natural Assets On Your Asset Management
Register?
Managing Assets (Chapter 5)

• Current Council asset management systems can be
  applied to natural assets
• Key Components on an Asset Management Plan
  include
• Asset Register
• Asset Condition Assessment
• Deterioration modelling and life cycle costing
• Risk Assessment
• Asset Management Policies and Plans

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Case Study Asset Register

• Newcastle City Council
• Mapping asset condition ratings
• Service level programs
• Identifying funding sources
• Implementing an asset maintenance program
• Asset inventory

P 44
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Action Planning and Delivery (Chapter 6)
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Action Planning and Delivery (Chapter 6)

• This Chapter covers
• Examples of Objectives, Strategies, Means and
  Measures for NRM
• Trying to Break Down the Silos
• Linking between NRM and other Council Plans
• Case studies

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Getting the Work Done!
Action Planning and Delivery (Chapter 6)

• You can get all the strategic stuff right but if
  you dont have good actions plans you wont get
  anywhere
• Action planning also an excellent opportunity to
  develop cross council approaches to programs
• Action planning has its own jargon. Important to
  know what that jargon is about and how to use it
  to integrate NRM.

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The Jargon of Action Planning

• Excellent examples of the use of each of these
  terms with NRM focus from
• Wagga Wagga
• Hornsby
• Tweed Shire
• Port Stephens

P 47
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Breaking Down the Silos

• Action planning an excellent opportunity for
  breaking down the silos.
• Put cross functional teams together
• Example
• Orange City Councils Water Quality Team
• Engineers, Environmental Officers, Enforcement
  Personnel, Building Surveyors, Operational
  Personnel, Land Use Planners, Assessment
  Officers, Senior Management
• Case Study
• Great Lakes Council

P 51 52
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NRM Monitoring and Reporting (Chapter 7)
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NRM Monitoring and Reporting (Chapter 7)

• This Chapter covers
• Provisions for Corporate Performance Reporting
• SoE Reporting
• Resource Condition monitoring
• Other Agencies and External Data
• Useful Reporting Frameworks

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The Big Question Why are we measuring?

• How can we use monitoring and reporting to
• effectively inform the corporate planning
  process?
• Key issues include
• Alignment of council reporting frameworks with
• national, state wide and regional reporting
  frameworks
• Useful baseline date
• Quality of data
• Most appropriate scale of management
• Purpose of the monitoring and reporting program

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Consider Regional Reporting

• Many environmental issues are regional in nature
• Regional co operation can reduce the time and
  resources involved in preparing an SoE Report
• Environmental information collected by others is
  often done so on a regional basis.
• Case Study
• Hunter Council's Regional SoE Reporting Network

Page 57
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External Data and Reporting Frameworks

• Many State Government Agencies collect data in
  the NRM field ( eg SoE Direct P 58)
• National NRM Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting
  and Improvement Framework a generic framework
  for managing natural assets ( p 59)
• NSW Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting Strategy
  lists proposed state wide monitoring programs
  to be implemented (p 60)
• Natural Resources Commission Standard for Quality
  NRM (p61)

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Case Studies Monitoring and Reporting

• Case Studies on Monitoring and Reporting
• Hornsby
• Penrith
• Sutherland

P 62 66
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References and Resources

• References P 67
• Web Links P 68 69

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Thank you

• An LGSA Training Initiative.