Integrated Planning & Reporting
Development of the Palerang Community Strategic Plan
Integrated Planning and Reporting is an initiative of the NSW State Government, designed to provide more accountability within the Local Government planning process. It is a requirement that all Councils in NSW embrace this process, to produce a Community Strategic Plan (CSP), and that this CSP becomes the basis for their annual management and operational plans.
Community Forums
One of the fundamental elements of the IP & R process is the preparation of a Community Strategic Plan, and the first stage in its development is an extensive process of community consultation. This was the motivation for the series of Community Workshops held during May and June of this year (2011).
Workshops were held in:
- Araluen
- Braidwood
- Bungendore
- Burra
- Captains Flat
- Gundillion
- Nerriga
- Wamboin
Others targeted specifically at business and government interests were held in Braidwood and Bungendore, and a youth forum, involving participants from the Braidwood Central School, was also held in Bungendore.
Workshop participants were asked to discuss and respond to five fundamental questions:
- Where are we now?
- Where are we going?
- Where do we want to be?
- How do we get there?
- How will we know when we get there?
Participants were also encouraged to think of 'the big picture', and to not to constrain their comments so much by what they thought might be possible, but what they felt would be practical and desirable.
Data Analysis
The data collected during this consultation phase, and the results of subsequent analysis, are provided through the links at left.
A spreadsheet containing the raw data, collected at the workshops, can be downloaded by clicking on the link below, or the data can be browsed and searched by following the Raw Data link in the left side menu.
|
IP & R Workshop Consolidated Raw Data | [1.3 MB] |
Following the Workshops, council staff and councillors have worked together to analyse and refine the workshop data. This process initially involved the identification of key themes to which individual comments applied, leading to seven general areas of focus for subsequent analysis, these being:
- Community & Culture
- Rural & Urban Development
- Local Economy
- Natural Environment
- Local Governance & Finance
- Transport & Infrastructure
- Recreation & Open Space
In the first instance, the responses to each of the five original questions were sorted according to which of the seven categories they were most applicable.
The responses to the first question "Where are we now?" were used to identify what we currently valued about our lives in Palerang. The responses to the question Where are we going? were used to identify Council's priorities for the future. The responses to the last three questions were used to derive relevant goals and strategies, and to identify associated success indicators.
The details of the analysis of responses, under each of the above listed seven categories, is provided under the Refined Data link in the left side menu.
Community Strategic Plan
The Palerang Community Strategic Plan was adopted on 17 May 2012. The final document can be downloaded from the Palerang Council website.
Future Planning
The next phase of the process will see the derivation of individual operational goals and objectives from the Community Strategic Plan to produce a 4-year Delivery Program, and from that annual Operational Plans. I will update this area as soon as more information is available.