REDO RURAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES FUND A SMALL TOWNS VICTORIA PROGRAM INITIATIVE

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1 REDO RURAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES FUND A SMALL TOWNS VICTORIA PROGRAM INITIATIVE About the REDO Fund Through the Rural Economic Development Opportunities (REDO) Fund the Small Towns Victoria Program (STVP) aims to foster innovation and economic growth in rural councils. This aligns with the State Government's commitment to provincial Victoria to manage change and shape a successful future. The REDO Fund enables rural councils to pursue short term projects which have an immediate impact on the liveability of their towns and municipalities; and to conduct feasibility studies and trials for innovative projects and economic development opportunities which will aid long term economic growth. The fund also increases the capacity of councils to better use and leverage grant opportunities to build and expand existing businesses and the community. The success of this fund is evidenced by the fact that it has been expended a year ahead of schedule. Twenty-five projects have been financed as at August 2009 utilising the entire funding of $510k. The STVP is about to commence a formal review and evaluation of the REDO fund. However, given that most projects will be concluding in early 2010, the evaluation will not be finalised until this time. The objectives are as follows: Project evaluation Identify lessons and collaborative opportunities from the projects funded Highlight any innovative solutions that have been applied Consolidate the project outcomes into a readily accessible key library of information Identify any tools that have been developed that can be shared with other councils Gather evidence to endorse a submission for additional funding to the State Government for a REDO Fund Phase Two Process evaluation Compile success stories of application of the REDO Fund Obtain project leader s views on how the REDO Fund was deployed Identify any program enhancements as a result of the process Why rural councils need the REDO Fund 1. Declining revenue opportunities and rate bases whilst many rural councils include economic development projects within their council plans, a substantial number of projects will remain unfunded without external assistance. 2. No other source of funding available for rural economic development projects this was explored in each instance as part of the due diligence on REDO Fund requests by both the RDV regional manager and the reviewer on the STVP Steering Committee. 3. A medium-sized grant not available through any other channels the maximum REDO Fund allocation was $24k. It was agreed by the Steering Committee that funding for smaller projects e.g. those under $50k, was missing throughout other Government funding programs for economic development projects. The REDO Fund aided the delivery of shorter term projects which would have a more immediate and noticeable impact on the liveability of a town or municipality. 4. Accessible funding ratios it was the decision of the STVP Steering Committee that greater financial support in the form of 3:1 funding would open up the participation in the program by rural councils. It was very well received by rural councils and could be said to have influenced the introduction of 3:1 funding ratios on other funding programs. Rural Councils Victoria Thursday 15 October

2 5. Assistance to make rural municipalities a better place to live the guidelines of the REDO Fund were developed in consultation with Regional Development Victoria managers and field officers. Benefits of Rural Councils Victoria managing the REDO Fund The STVP Steering Committee believes that the benefits of Rural Councils Victoria (RCV) continuing to administer this fund or an equivalent will yield these benefits as delivered under the current arrangement: 1. Extend the reach of the STVP funding allocating $510k from the STVP allowed rural councils to contribute to the delivery of three program goals (stimulating economic performance, capacity building for changing environments, collaboration between council, business and community). 2. Provide mentorship through peer review the STVP Steering Committee thoroughly reviewed each project and each was discussed in detail before approval for the funding was granted. This process meant that, in most cases, mentorship was provided by a Steering Committee member to the applicant. Through the discussion and feedback to the committee, members reported lessons to take back to their own councils and regions. 3. Informed assessment the STVP Steering Committee includes members from around the state so that in most cases, there was some local knowledge about the project to enable the committee to provide a more informed decision about the application. 4. Encourage innovation the STVP Steering Committee favoured projects demonstrating innovation e.g. Ararat Rural City Council, Towong Shire Council. 5. Encourage information sharing the nature of many of the projects meant that the results whether it be a toolkit or a report could be shared by other councils e.g. Colac Otway Shire Council, Mount Alexander Shire Council. 6. Support collaboration most of the projects included a strong engagement element blending council, business and community e.g. Moira Shire Council, Baw Baw Shire Council, which helped to meet the overall goals of the STVP. 7. User friendly the REDO Fund materials guidelines, application form, project assessment form and acquittal/ evaluation are easy to understand and quick to complete. The application form included electronic fields which encouraged concise responses to the assessment criteria. 8. Swift process the STVP Steering Committee discussed and approved the projects in their monthly meetings. The relevant paperwork was quickly arranged for the council to enable the projects to commence immediately. 9. Promote initiatives a media release template was provided for the council to tailor appropriately and issue to local media to promote their project. Additionally, RCV events such as the Small Towns Summit and twice yearly forums are utilised to publicise the REDO projects and further encourage collaboration and information sharing. 10. Independent review the project approval model (via the STVP Steering Committee) was seen as equitable and without bias given that each part of the state is represented on the committee. This also resulted in as even as possible distribution of the funding around the state. Next steps Based on these benefits, the STVP Steering Committee believes that RCV continuing to administer this fund or an equivalent will build on these benefits. Additionally, a review and redraft of the REDO Fund guidelines will enable councils to meet the objectives and to deliver the State Government s Regional Strategic Planning initiative. Rural Councils Victoria Thursday 15 October

3 from acquitted REDO Fund Projects Six REDO Fund projects have been acquitted. All other projects are scheduled to conclude with acquittal and evaluation by March Here are the objectives and deliverables achieved by three of the completed projects: Case study one: No Space Like Home pilot web hub for St Arnaud Northern Grampians Shire Council Build the No Space Like Home website using a local IT consultant. Consult with the community, business and council groups to build the website. Encourage use of the website by current and former residents. Offer features such as local news, personal news, job opportunities, real estate, events, sporting information, community resources, interactive chit chat, gossip. Harness nostalgia, encourage former residents to return to the town. Develop a source funding to keep the website sustainable. 1. Building capacity of community members: Local students were involved in the project and they developed a Facebook group to promote the site, they were also instrumental in the promotion at the St Arnaud Festival with flyers and posters. No Space Like Home was built using open sources technology Joomla! which enabled users of varying skill levels and administrators to continue to update and improve the site. The regular update of news was due to the partnership with St Arnaud s local newspaper, North Central News. This partnership has resulted in a successor for the project with North Central News to take on responsibilities into the future. 2. Creating business opportunities locally: The hub was created by local website designers MakinITEzy and graphic designers Dojo Design. MakinITEzy employed a local student for the contract and has retained the employee since the projects completion. During the project period the website advertised four jobs which each received a further thirty hits prior to applications closing. Beyond the project the business directory, links to real estate and update of news will provide further promotion of local businesses and the town. 3. Building awareness of the town/ municipality: There were over 100 registered users at the end of January 2009 with over 300 unique page visits to the website each month. The site ranked highly amongst search engines which will provide easy access to the site and add to the promotional capacity. The students involve with the site set up a social networking group on Facebook that complimented the aims and encouraged users to register. Rural Councils Victoria Thursday 15 October

4 Case study two: After the bypass a plan to secure Harcourt s future Mount Alexander Shire Council Creating a place to live strengthening the local economy through residential growth and associated growth of facilities and services. Develop strategies to manage the attraction and settlement of new residents and to ensure the retention of the existing population whilst also preserving the natural environment and without threat to existing and potential agribusiness. Returning sense of place and urban character to the town centre creating an attractive and vibrant community space. Tourism making Harcourt a destination of choice through development of a strategic marketing plan leveraging off partnerships and alliances and the development of key tourism products and packages. 1. Re-prioritising planning in council Recommendations in relation to land use planning such as the council initiating an amendment to the planning scheme to replace the present township zone with other more appropriate zones. Recommendation to amend township boundaries to remove anomalies. This study undertaken as part of the report has allowed Council to bring forward this important land use planning work to the 2009/10 financial year. 2. Robust research on most practical urban design Following consultation with project stakeholders and the Harcourt 2020 Community Committee a number of urban design concepts were developed and displayed for community feedback. The urban centre will see temporary road closures and traffic diversions to test and assess some of the proposed road treatment works and the realignments. This will be a costeffective and evidence-based assessment of proposed town design concepts and will encourage community feedback and help identify a preferred and practical final solution. 3. Community engagement and knowledge sharing Regular consultations were held with the community. This ensured initial impetus and backing of the project and immediate feedback on the proposed project. The group provided a conduit for a greater connection and understanding between the community and council. However, the development of terms of reference for the participation of this group would have been beneficial. Harcourt has not been the only town within the shire to struggle economically and socially as a result of a major road bypass. The model established in this report has been valuable and has been applied to similar situations in other towns within the shire e.g. Taradale. 4. A tourism strategy for the short, medium and long term The strategic activities are targeted to progressively build the profile of Harcourt as a place to live, work and invest. Some of the key economic and community development opportunities include: Improved regional tourism links with key markets Opportunities to improve overall tourist signage Development of a business case for the attraction of investment into tourism accommodation in particular quality camping, caravan park or lodge accommodation Strategic planning for a community co-operative store An inventory of agribusiness and horticultural activity to identify business and product development, value add investment and job creation opportunities Rural Councils Victoria Thursday 15 October

5 Case study three: Ararat Algae Biofuel Project Ararat Rural City Council To identify suitable local species of algae for transport fuel production. To test growth rates of those algae to assess their potential for commercial fuel production on a farm or local scale. 1. Scientific results and an unplanned discovery While the scientists demonstrated that they were not able to produce any oil from algae, the discovery of an oil bearing species occurring naturally in saline water in the local area indicates further investigation into separating and growing these algae is warranted. The unplanned investigation into the oil content of local plants has revealed a potentially valuable alternative crop for local farmers. Further research needs to be conducted on possible uses for the Melaleuca oil. 2. Economic Development opportunities for rural municipalities to pursue The identification of the oil producing species growing locally in saline water opens the potential for local fuel production. The project successfully grew the salt tolerant algae Percursaria percursa which has the potential for a number of uses. Testing a species of Melaleuca that grows very well in the area for its oil content. The species M. armillaris was found to produce large quantities of a volatile oil that has a number of potential uses including transport fuel. 3. A case for further study into fuel alternatives The direct benefit to the local economy from the project will occur in the future if the findings of this project are further progressed. Based on ICLEI figures for Ararat Rural City community emissions, agriculture uses around four million litres of diesel fuel per annum. There are approximately 700 primary producers within the municipality giving an average annual fuel usage of 5,700 litres. Melaleuca could provide this amount from 13 hectares of land or around 3 per cent of the average farm area. A suitably sized still to extract this amount of oil would cost around $10,000. Harvesting equipment would cost a similar amount. This equipment could be shared amongst a number of landowners making the cost of alternative fuel less than current fuel costs. Attachments: 1. List of REDO projects including commencement and conclusion dates 2. REDO Fund process evaluation questions For further information about the REDO Fund contact: Maxine Morrison Program Adviser Municipal Association of Victoria mmorrison@mav.asn.au Rural Councils Victoria Thursday 15 October