Imagining the Best Natural Resources and Catchment Authority in the world

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Andrew Campbell Triple Helix Consulting www.triplehelix.com.au


Key Points • We need to revitalise regional/coastal NRM in Australia – The drivers & opportunities are immense, the imperative is urgent

• Natural Resources, Coastal and Catchment Authorities – A wonderful opportunity to build something special – What could success look like? – Characteristics of a high­performing organisation Clarity of purpose and strategy Governance Knowledge and understanding Positioning and Relationships

• Regional professionals (you!) have a great role to play 2


Drivers for integrated regional and coastal NRM • Climate • Water • Energy • Food • Demographic change and development pressures • Competition for land & water resources • Resource degradation


Profound technical challenges 1. To decouple economic growth from carbon emissions 2. To adapt to an increasingly difficult climate 3. To increase water productivity — decoupling the 1 litre per calorie relationship

1. To increase energy productivity – –

more food energy out per unit of energy in while shifting from fossil fuels to renewable energy

1. To develop more sustainable food systems – –

while conserving biodiversity and improving landscape amenity, soil health, animal welfare & human health

1. To do all of the above simultaneously! — improving sustainability and resilience

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The imperative •

Rapid, often surprising, on­going environmental change will challenge governments and industries, and stress communities

Many responses (proactive and reactive) will need to be designed and/or interpreted at regional and local levels. Successful implementation depends on community support.

We need environmentally literate and capable bodies at this scale, with strong community support and involving community leaders, that bridge government and community, public and private

Policy convergence in climate, energy, water and food systems mandates integrated planning & delivery


We need a third agricultural revolution • Closed loop farming systems, not leaking:

(water, energy, nutrients, carbon, biodiversity)

• Smart metering, sensing, telemetry, robotics, guidance • Better understanding of soil carbon & microbial activity • Radically reducing waste in all parts of the food chain • Farming systems producing renewable bioenergy (2nd generation)

• Attracting young talent back into agriculture and rural communities 6


Land Use Planning & Design • Victoria is already “post­agricultural” in several regions • We have some elements of a new paradigm – Ecoservices etc – Carbon offsets market (Greenfleet et al)

– New corporate players — e.g. VicSuper, MIS schemes, energy companies

• And we know areas that need to expand – – – – 7

Water conservation Habitat restoration and reconnection Residential Renewable energy (wind, solar, biomass, biogas)


Putting landscapes back together • How can this all ‘fit’ at a landscape and regional scale? • The landscape needs to be re­plumbed, re­wired and re­clothed • We need new regional planning approaches that: – are robust under a range of climate change & demographic scenarios – build in resilience thinking – accommodate carbon pollution mitigation options (energy, transport, food) – safeguard productive soil and allow for increased food production – facilitate reuse and recycling of water, nutrients and energy

• Integrating and/or replacing regional catchment strategies and local government planning, zoning, rating and DA processes

• The White Paper moves in this direction • Such integration is more likely to be driven by NRCAs than other players 8


And seascapes? • Climate change is already affecting Australian marine life* – changes in temperature, ocean currents and chemistry (predominantly acidification), winds, nutrient supply, river run off, sea levels, rainfall and extreme weather – the invasion off the east coast of Tasmania of sea urchins native to NSW has caused barrens (loss of kelp and reduced diversity); – Increasing % of tropical species in phytoplankton blooms in SE Aust waters; – the rock lobster catch and distribution is correlated with changing sea surface temperatures (SST) around the Tasman sea; – 34 fish species have exhibited major distributional changes in the last decade

• Many Australian fish species spend some of their life cycle in estuaries • ‘Catchment to coast’ or ‘source to sea’ integration will become increasingly critical for marine ecosystems 9

* Source: Hobday et al 2006)


Imagining the best Natural Resources, Catchment and Coastal Authority in the world

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Vision

Getting there


Characteristics of high­performing organisations 1. Clarity of purpose and strategy 2. Governance 3. Understanding and knowledge 4. Positioning and relationships 11


Imagining a top NRCCA PURPOSE and STRATEGY • Clarity of purpose – integrated NRM at regional/catchment scale – bridging government and community, public & private – taking the long view, grounded in connection to place

• Clarity of strategy – consistency with governing legislation & mandate – well­defined priorities: thematic, spatial, temporal – logical thread from interventions to goals (means to ends) – a story that locals ‘get’ easily, that resonates 12


Imagining a top NRCCA (2) GOVERNANCE • Successful organisations are well run – they make a difference, that people can see and appreciate – good balance between performance and conformance

• Significant public funding demands good governance – – – –

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being well run, and being seen to be well run excellent people, employed appropriately business systems: HR, finance, risk, compliance, audit governance • • • •

Clarity and respect for distinct roles of Board/CEO/management Respect boundaries between board and management Clear reporting and audit frameworks Codes of conduct


Imagining a top NRCCA (3) UNDERSTANDING and KNOWLEDGE • Knowing the catchment, and knowing its people – – – –

demography and demographic trends who lives in the catchment, what are their drivers? values, perceptions, hopes, fears, know­how regional economy, economic trends & opportunities

• Tapped into best available knowledge relevant to strategy – sustainable land use options, best practice, factors affecting adoption – a useful toolkit of incentives, planning, regulation – comprehensive local knowledge base, and knowledge systems – technical credibility & capability to deliver – partnerships with knowledge providers – close links with local champions 14


Some thoughts on Knowledge • Knowing the catchment, and knowing its people – – – –

demography and demographic trends who lives in the catchment, what are their drivers? values, perceptions, hopes, fears, know­how regional economy, economic trends & opportunities

• Tapped into best available knowledge relevant to strategy – sustainable land use options, best practice, factors affecting adoption – a useful toolkit of incentives, planning, regulation – comprehensive local knowledge base, and knowledge systems – technical credibility & capability to deliver – partnerships with knowledge providers – close links with local champions 15


Imagining a top NRCCA (4a) RELATIONSHIPS • Understood and valued by key client groups – – – – –

grassroots community volunteers landholders and consumers of resources (e.g. tourists) resource­using industries all tiers of government other relevant non­government organisations (NGOs)

• Seen as adding value by these groups • Able to influence behaviour within these groups consistent with implementing the Catchment/NRM Plan • Drawing funds & resources from diverse sources 16


Knowledge 101 •

Knowledge happens between the ears

An individual cognitive process and highly contextual: – “I only know what I know when I need to know it”

Revealed in artifacts (writing, art, formulae, products etc), skills, experience, rules of thumb and natural talent (Dave Snowden)

Across quite different domains: – Including local, Indigenous, scientific, strategic (organisational)

And different sectors: – research, policy, management, planning, extension, education, monitoring

people default to known, trusted, accessible sources: – credibility, dialogue, easy access & honesty all critical – timing is crucial: knowledge is most useful when it is needed

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The Cynefin knowledge framework* • Climate change spans all of these domains • If temp increase > 2ºC, then disorder & chaos will reign • The challenge is to handle the necessary range of simultaneous responses – to work in all of these domains at once – to develop a system-wide perspective – & the knowledge systems and learning strategies to underpin that perspective * David Snowden & Mary Boone (2007) “Leader's Framework for Decision Making” Harvard Business Review


An organisational knowledge checklist  How easy is it for staff (especially new starters) to find out what the organisation knows about a given issue? – And the public? – Do NRCA-funded research outputs and consultancies feed into AANRO?

 How easy is it to find out what has been funded, and to access those knowledge assets? How useful is the web site for staff?

 How can WDNRCA tap into (and share) the tacit knowledge of experienced people, before, when & after they leave?

 How many people are trained in the web content management system and can upload & manage web content? – And web 2.0 tools? – E.g. how many wikis are in use in WDNRCA? 19

– Or communities of practice?


Knowledge checklist (continued)  How well does WDNRCA “fund the arrows” (internally & externally) – i.e. provide time and resources for linking & joining functions?

 What is a typical knowledge and adoption (comms if you must) budget for WDNRCA programs or major projects?  What is a typical evaluation budget for WDNRCA programs?  Are there generic templates for evaluation plans & K&A plans?  Is Intellectual Property well-catalogued and proactively managed?  Can the WDNRCA knowledge system handle diverse knowledge assets? – E.g. images, films, oral histories, metadata, unpublished material

 Is reading, knowledge and learning valued? 20


Imagining a top NRCCA (4b) POSITIONING • Closely linked with relationships • CMO roles very well defined and clearly articulated – Including how they relate to those of each tier of Government (especially local govt planning, zoning, rating, approvals etc)

• CMO seen as adding value to the efforts of volunteers – e.g. helping them to access resources with minimal bureaucracy – providing a clear strategic framework for their efforts – valuing their contribution

• Grounded in connections to place – CMO seen as ‘speaking for the catchment’ – and ‘keeper of the long view’ in catchment knowledge 21


Improving the regional model Systems make things possible, people make things happen

• Reflecting on the NRM knowledge system as a whole, cross­ system learning has been patchy at best

• The regional model (NLP, NHT, NAP, C4C) has no overall HR strategy

• It is great that front­line practitioners are finally getting together across regional boundaries

• Look for opportunities to develop informal communities of practice • Exploit web 2.0 technologies • Value (and reward) skills development 22


NRM professionals • Will continue to be in great demand • Can shape remarkable careers • Mobility and flexibility important, BUT; – Build on a solid base of skills and expertise – Understand yourself, how you relate to others, how others see you – Take time out to sharpen the saw (several times) – Cultivate mentors, patrons, exemplars, networks

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• Don’t forget to have a life!


Take home messages • We need to revitalise regional/coastal NRM in Australia – The opportunities are immense, the imperative is urgent

• This agenda needs to be nested cohesively within a bigger picture of climate, water, energy and food systems – pursuing sustainability and resilience

• The regional level is where these drivers collide – And where many opportunities lie

Regional professionals (you…) have a great role to play — GO FOR IT! 24


For more information

www.triplehelix.com.au 25


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