INFFER underpins regional planning

The North Central Catchment Management Authority (NCCMA) in Victoria has recently released its third Regional Catchment Strategy (RCS3) for public comment. RCS3 is a key planning document that will set regional priorities for the future management of natural resources across the North Central CMA region. The strategy seeks to “provide a clear road map for the future investment in the regions natural assets for the next six years to achieve cost effective outcomes for government and community”.

The previous RCS adopted in 2004 was acknowledged to have a number of weaknesses including the fact that many of the targets were not SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-bound), impacting the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of progress. The CMA has made a conscious and determined effort to avoid this problem in the development of RCS3.

They have made extensive use of INFFER over the past four years in developing the strategy, from initial identification of more than 400 significant assets to prioritisation and subsequent development of business cases, using the Project Assessment Form (PAF) for ~ 20 priority assets. Importantly the information collected from community and agency stakeholders provides a foundation for collaborative development of project at a range of scales by a variety of stakeholders in future years.

To view the draft strategy visit http://nccma.bangthetable.com/

The draft strategy is open for public comment during May and June 2012