How do we measure our progress?
In their review of strategic direction, council will have considered options for the next planning period and selected appropriate strategies.
Now is also the time to consider how well the corporate and other plans are serving council in terms of alignment, application of sound strategic planning principles, and legislative compliance.
Key steps
Recommended resources
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Note:
The amount of time, effort and resources required at this stage will depend on the degree to which council has successfully completed the strategic review recommendations in earlier three stages of the Planning Cycle.
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Step 4.1 Ensure alignment in the planning processes
As indicated in Section 3.1 - Defining strategic timeframes, the Corporate Plan is part of a wider set of local government planning processes and timeframes that need to be integrated and aligned. In preparation for the next step in the Planning Cycle, Stage 2 - Develop the Corporate Plan, it is important to ensure that the overall planning process is in alignment.
The indicative relationships between the strategic planning components are illustrated as follows:
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Step 4.1.1 Confirm alignment with the community plan
It is useful at this time for council to review the outputs from Step 2.2 - Develop a community plan.
Checklist 16 - Align the council vision
Whether or not council has developed a community plan, it is useful to ask:
- Is the vision statement clearly understood by elected members and council officers?
- Does the vision statement have community support?
- How relevant is the vision to where we want to be in the next 20 years?
- Are council’s strategic priorities based on Quadruple Bottom Line
In the event that any doubts are raised by these questions, be prepared to re-visit these issues.
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Step 4.1.2 Confirm alignment between the IPA and Corporate planning processes
To achieve a coordinated approach to planning and achieve efficiencies in the planning process, it us helpful for council to review the issues raised in Step 3.2.1 - Alignment between the (IPA) and Corporate plans.
Checklist 17 - Align the IPA and corporate plan
Taking into account the relationship between the corporate plan and other planning processes it is important for council to ask:
- Does the 4 year review cycle for the corporate plan incorporate the relevant aspects of the 8 year review cycle for the IPA planning scheme preparation?
- Does the annual review cycle for the corporate plan reflect the ongoing review of the IPA planning cycle?
In the event that any doubts are raised by these questions, review the information in Toolbox 2 - Alignment between the IPA and Corporate plans. (
PDF 284 kB).
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Step 4.1.3 Review growth management strategies
Growth management strategies (also known as issues plans) have an 8 year focus. These are generally developed around the responses to the statutory requirements of LGFS section 30 - Matters to be considered for identifying local and regional issues. These will have been taken up earlier in the planning cycle as indicated in these Guidelines at Step 1.3 - Assess local and regional issues - Environmental Scan.
Checklist 18 - Review growth management strategies
Taking into account the issues facing council at this time, it is worthwhile to ask:
- Do well do council’s growth management strategies deal with vital issues?
- Has council responded appropriately to the legislative requirements? If so, how?
- Are council’s issues plans consistent with the LGFS 2005 amendments?
- How well do the issues plans complement council’s corporate plan programs?
- What changes, if any, are required?
In the event that any doubts are raised by these questions, be prepared to re-visit these particular issues in relation to selected, or all issues plans.
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Step 4.2 Check that each plan is based on sound strategic planning principles
The Australian Business Excellence Framework (ABEF) provides a self-assessment framework that can be used by councils to compare the quality of their planning processes with world best practice.
Councils are encouraged to rate their performance against each of the measures used by ABEF and to identify ways to improve their current planning practices.
Refer to Toolbox 3 - Checklist - Planning excellence ( PDF 58 kB) for guidance in using the ABEF framework to consider improvements in council’s planning practices.
Refer to Template 1 - Planning excellence ( PDF 16 kB) for a practical checklist that can be used in conjunction with the ABEF self-assessment framework.
Refer to Template 2 - Checklist- Successful strategic planning ( PDF 16 kB) to rate council’s approach to strategic planning and identify ways to improve current practices.
Another useful strategic planning framework is described in Section 3.5 The Balanced Scorecard.
Refer to Case study 12 - Balanced scorecard - Bankstown City Council ( PDF 42 kB) for a summary of the Bankstown City Council experience with implementation of the Balanced Scorecard approach in their business planning and monitoring.
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Step 4.3 Test each plan for legislative compliance
The major legislative sources that impact on corporate planning in local governments are the Local Government Act 1993 (LGA) and the Local Government Finance Standard 2005 (LGFS). The key legislative requirements are summarised in Section 2 - Know your legislation.
Refer to specific sections for more information as follows:
Review the process information in Toolbox 2 - Alignment between the IPA and Corporate plans ( PDF 284 kB) to ensure compliance with the Integrated Planning Act 1997.
Refer to Toolbox 4 - Checklist - Statutory plans ( PDF 38 kB) for guidance in ensuring that council has taken account of statutory obligations for planning outside of the LGA provisions.
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Step 4.4 Review progress in the strategic planning process
Before moving on to Stage two - Develop the corporate plan, it is helpful to take note of what has been completed so far, and what needs to happen next in terms of the strategic planning process.
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