Evaluation of current governance arrangements to support regional investment under the NHT and NAP
Final Report to the Department of the Environment and Heritage and Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
Prepared by WalterTurnbull
December 2005
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About this document
WalterTurnbull was selected to undertake an evaluation of the governance of regional bodies funded under the Natural Heritage Trust (NHT) and the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality (NAP) to deliver the regional investment element of those programs.
The evaluation of regional governance arrangements is a response, in part, to recommendations relating to regional governance issues in an Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) audit on the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality, which was tabled in Parliament on 15 December 2004.
The intention of this evaluation is to provide an assessment of the governance arrangements that support regional investment through NHT and NAP.
Through the assessment the Australian Government wishes to:
- Understand in more detail current governance arrangements as they are applied across Australia under the regional investment arrangements for the two programmes;
- Identify what initiatives are being taken to improve governance in states/regions;
- Identify current best practice among regional bodies; and
- Identify what improvements could be made to current arrangements to achieve best practice governance.
The objectives of the evaluation were to:
- Identify the current governance arrangements of regional bodies and their capacity to implement Australian Government requirements for managing and reporting on regional investments; and
- Develop some general principles (for example, a ‘best practice’ model) to improve the capacity of regional bodies to meet these responsibilities, and suggest ways in which they can be implemented, taking into account local circumstances and conditions.
The evaluation also addressed the following specific issues:
- The financial management systems used in the regions and the skill and capacity of regional personnel to understand and use these systems;
- The project management structures and processes, including contract management, and the skills and capacity of regional personnel to manage investments;
- The quality of financial and performance information and the capacity of the regions to provide appropriate reports which meet accountability requirements;
- Risk management arrangements; and
- The potential for conflicts of interest and the capacity of regions to manage this risk.
The scope of the evaluation included:
- Strategic direction and leadership provided by the boards of regional bodies;
- Roles and responsibilities of the boards; and
- People and financial management in regional bodies.
In conducting the evaluation WalterTurnbull undertook the following activities:
- Developed a better practice governance model against which to evaluate the governance of regional bodies in consultation with the Steering Committee;
- Tested the efficacy of the model as a suitable tool for evaluating the governance of regional bodies by using it to evaluate the governance of one of the selected regional bodies;
- In consultation with the Steering Committee and the Departments selected a representative sample of regional bodies across Australia to evaluate their governance performance;
- Conducted detailed reviews of the eight regional bodies selected and evaluated their governance performance against the agreed better practice principles model. (A copy of the model is at Appendix D). This involved site visits to each of the bodies, reviewing key documentation and systems relating to the governance and management of the organisation, and undertaking interviews with Board and management of the organisation;
- Conducted interviews with a range of stakeholders associated with the management and delivery of NHT and NAP;
- Developed an overview of key findings and recommendations for discussion with the Steering Committee;
- Developed a draft report and circulated it to the Steering Committee and the Departments for comment; and
- Developed a final report in the light of comments received from the Steering Committee and the Departments.
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