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Caring for our Country Business Plan 2010-11

About the Business Plan 2010-11

Building partnerships

Caring for our Country is best delivered by a diverse range of stakeholders and a variety of mechanisms. Achieving a healthy, better protected, well-managed and resilient environment requires us to combine our experience, knowledge, skills and capacity.

The Australian Government is keen to support projects that are delivered by parties working together in partnership where this adds value and more effectively delivers on our targets.

A proposal underpinned by a strong partnership should capture a wide pool of knowledge and skills and bring together those particular networks of people and resources essential to the project's success. We are keen to foster partnership projects where each partner adds value and it makes sense in terms of the outcome sought. Equally, where they have the capacity and experience to undertake the activity and a partnership would not add value, proponents are welcome to bring forward proposals which do not involve a partnership.

What are partnerships?

A partnership involves two or more groups with complementary skills that work together (collaborate) to effectively plan and deliver a project. A partnership is more than just consultation - it is the commitment of groups to play an essential role in delivering a project and remain actively involved until it is completed.

Each partnership project will have a nominated lead proponent and supporting/additional project partners. Details of each partner will be required in the application form and we may also seek further evidence and confirmation of their commitment.

Collaborative projects can be at different scales - state, regional or local. This can involve two or more state bodies, regional natural resource management (NRM) organisations, businesses or local groups working together to achieve the same goal.

Potential partnerships

Regional NRM organisations

Regional NRM organisations play a central role in delivering Caring for our Country at the regional scale. The identified regional organisations in the 56 NRM regions work in partnership with farmers, landholders and community groups, non-government and Indigenous organisations, governments and businesses to secure both our farming resource base and our unique environment into the future.

They provide support and access to knowledge and skills for landholders, Coastcare and Landcare groups and the broader community. They also work with local and state governments to deliver region-wide solutions and maintain the capacity of the regional community to address the Australian Government's targets.

Regional NRM organisations can coordinate the local community, facilitate partnerships with private sector investors and provide linkages for non-government organisations and other parties that will add significant value to the Australian Government's investments.

They are an important potential partner for a large number of interested stakeholder groups and organisations in delivering Caring for our Country, and have responsibilities under Caring for our Country to provide support to community groups and organisations. We encourage groups and organisations to contact their regional NRM organisation to discuss potential project partnerships or other funding opportunities.

Under Caring for our Country the identified regional organisations in the 56 NRM regions have been provided with an annual base-level allocation of $138 million. Multi-year base-level allocations provide them with the certainty to plan and undertake longer term activities consistent with Caring for our Country targets and outcomes.

Government

State and territory governments have their own priorities for investment in the management of natural resources. Some jurisdictions have a state NRM plan that guides their own processes.

Local government also has a range of functions and responsibilities that directly support local communities and deliver sustainable approaches to land-use and natural resource planning and management.

Where other government priorities overlap or align with the Caring for our Country targets, the Australian Government is keen to pool resources and coordinate effort to ensure the best results are delivered.

The Australian Government recognises and welcomes the wide range of technical and operational expertise that these partners bring to integrated projects. State, territory and local governments are already working with regional NRM organisations to deliver Caring for our Country in many parts of Australia. Contact your regional NRM organisation to discover where these partnerships already exist.

Indigenous

Indigenous people have significant and unique knowledge and skills in land and sea management relevant to the delivery of many Caring for our Country targets.

This knowledge is essential in delivering some Caring for our Country targets, such as the recording of traditional ecological knowledge and developing land and sea country plans, and Indigenous groups are essential providers or partners in such projects.

In addition, Indigenous people are ideally placed in many areas to assist in the delivery of Caring for our Country targets more generally and it is expected that, where it makes sense to do so, all proposals through this business plan will explore and address opportunities for Indigenous people to participate in the delivery of the targets.

For more information about partnership opportunities with Indigenous people see Indigenous participation.

Community groups

Community groups and networks, including Indigenous communities, Landcare, industry, waterwatch, threatened species networks and Coastcare groups, have been the backbone of on-ground delivery in environmental protection and sustainable resource use for many years and they continue to be supported under Caring for our Country.

Community groups can enter into a partnership with a sponsor organisation who becomes the contractual party, leaving the community group members free to put their time and skills to project delivery.

Community groups and networks seeking smaller amounts of funding are encouraged to contact their local regional NRM organisation to discuss local grant options (devolved grants) or to identify other groups they could partner with to submit a larger proposal.

Community Action Grants are also available to community groups. It is anticipated that the 2010-11 Community Action Grants round will open for applications in July 2010.

Non-government groups

The Australian Government also encourages non-government organisations (NGOs) to seek partnerships to achieve Caring for our Country targets.

NGOs are an important resource in the delivery of long-term results, often providing specialist skills and knowledge in specific areas of environmental protection and sustainable landscape management.

NGOs can play a particular role in the delivery of Caring for our Country, in actions to mobilise public support, engage volunteers and attract corporate contributions.

Business and industry

There is an increased focus by the business and industry sector on issues such as climate change adaptation, supply chain and corporate social responsibility. Such sustainability initiatives undertaken within the business and industry sector provide opportunities for partnerships that directly contribute to the achievement of Caring for our Country outcomes. Specific co-investment opportunities have also been identified for proponents to work with and secure financial support from corporate organisations to enhance their funding bids. For more information see Section 1.4 of the 2010-11 business plan.

Business and industry organisations can partner with regional NRM organisations, local government and state government agencies, NGOs, local community groups, research institutions or Indigenous organisations. The Australian Government is encouraging partnerships between such organisations where their activities will directly contribute to achieving Caring for our Country targets.

Roles and responsibilities of regional NRM organisations

Base-level allocations

Each of the identified regional organisations in the 56 NRM regions are invited to submit proposals to access their base-level allocation. These proposals must address the targets and the scope of eligible activities which are outlined for regional NRM organisations.

In 2010-11 regional NRM organisations are invited to submit an expression of interest for their available base-level allocation, identifying how their proposed activities address targets in this business plan.

The Australian Government is seeking significant investment in engaging Indigenous communities through base-level allocations, identifying how their proposed activities address targets in this business plan. Regional NRM organisations are well placed to interact with Indigenous groups and increase Indigenous participation in environmental protection and natural resource management at a regional and local scale. Wherever possible, Indigenous communities should be involved in the delivery of regional programs to address Caring for our Country targets.

All base-level allocation expression of interest proposals should outline how regions will engage and support the community, including local groups such as Landcare and coastcare, whilst delivering on the Caring for our Country targets.

It is expected that regional programs will:

• assist local communities, including environment, Indigenous, Landcare and coastcare groups, to access knowledge and skills in managing natural resources, using mechanisms such as
  • providing easily accessible, free information to groups and individuals, or
  • providing training for local groups
• provide support for community groups to undertake local projects, for example through provision of devolved grants schemes, or provision of facilitation/ coordination services.

For more information on how to develop an expression of interest for regional base-level allocation see the How to apply section.

Open call

Regional NRM organisations can also submit proposals for open call investments in addition to their base-level allocations, particularly where they can leverage significant contributions through real partnerships with key stakeholders in their regions. Regional NRM organisations are also well placed to develop multi-regional and cross-jurisdictional projects.

These open call proposals will be considered the same as any other proposals through the open call and must be limited to the focus and scope of eligible activities described for each target in the open call section of the business plan.

Proposals submitted by regional NRM organisations through the open call must use the same online application form provided for all open call proponents. For more information on preparing a proposal see the How to apply section.