HiCUB – High County Urban Biodiversity & NESS – New England Sustainability Strategy

Guyra, Armidale Dumaresq, Uralla and Walcha Councils

HiCUB Synergies with NESS II

Potential synergies between the High Country Urban Biodiversity Project (HiCUB) and the Second Stage of the
New England Sustainability Strategy (NESS II) have been identified.
To reduce duplication of effort and to ensure the best outcome for both projects, the project teams intend to
work together to strengthen collaboration for sustainability including development of a “Sustainability Fund”
and a “Web based community networking tool”, specific stakeholder engagement and planning processes to
develop a “Regional Sustainability Roundtable & Scorecard” and “Model for LGA Integration”, and partnering
to enhance energy outcomes with Farming the Sun.
Preliminary detail (subject to evolution) of the fund and the web tool, from the perspective of the HiCUB
project objectives is given below. The HiCUB project has a 2 year implementation phase finishing February
2012. Both the fund and the web tool will be established as on-going community resources.
The NESS II work is coordinated by NESSiE (New England Sustainability Strategy Executive) and has a one-year
implementation phase finishing March 2011.

Governance & Strategic Integration

Overall task
To align and integrate HiCUB and NESS II to build upon each other and take precautions to ensure they don’t
unintentionally compete or confuse.
Component tasks
1. Cross Membership
 HiCUB Representation at NESSiE Meetings
 NESSiE Representation at HiCUB Steering Committee
2. Integrated Planning & Implementation
 Develop and Agree priorities for synergy (this Paper)
 Integration of agreed priorities into HiCUB and NESS II Plans, Milestones and Budgets as agreed
 Cross Membership of Project Teams for specific agreed priorities to be implemented
 Regular communication and reporting
Relevant stakeholders
 HiCUB Steering Committee and Advisory Group
 NESSiE
 Guyra, Armidale Dumaresq, Uralla and Walcha Councils
 NSW Environmental Trust
 HiCUB – High County Urban Biodiversity & NESS – New England Sustainability Strategy
Guyra, Armidale Dumaresq, Uralla and Walcha Councils

Sustainability Fund
Overall task
Establish a future funding mechanism to attract additional resources for HiCUB and NESS activities into the
future.
Component tasks
1. Design and establish the fund
 Legal structure of the fund and on-going governance
 Define purpose and principles of the fund with stakeholder input
 Define the sustainability outcomes that will result from donor investment
 Work with recipients (see below) to build accountability of outcomes
2. Attract investors
 Build partnerships with donors
 Develop marketing strategy and material (for example investor prospectus, web access for
donors)
Relevant stakeholders
 “Recipients” - organisation capable of delivering regional sustainability projects eg. NESSiE SNELCC,
CWC, SLA, U3CF and others to be determined
 “Donors” or organisations with links to donors eg. NE Mutual, Flight Centre, philanthropists and
philanthropic organisations, Landcare Australia Ltd, Government investors (CMA, State, Federal, NSW
Environmental Trust), individual donors and corporate sponsors.
 “Collaborating Stakeholders” - organisations that have done work toward scoping the design of a
regional sustainability fund eg NESSiE, SNELCC, SLA, U3CF and others as relevant.

Model for LGA Integration

Overall task
To develop a replicable model for the integration of NESS, HiCUB and other similar initiatives such as the Local
Adaptation Pathways and Climate Consensus Projects, into local government planning, management and
reporting systems.
Component tasks
1. Co-Design Workshop
 Develop and agree the process to engage with key stakeholders and existing planning processes
for the development of the Integration Model
2. Stakeholder Dialogues
 Conduct two Stakeholder Dialogues to brainstorm, refine and finalise the Integration Model
3. Sign Off
 Present proposed Integration Model to Councils for Sign Off (January 2011)
Relevant stakeholders
 HiCUB Steering Committee and Advisory Group
 NESSiE
 Guyra, Armidale Dumaresq, Uralla and Walcha Councils
 HiCUB – High County Urban Biodiversity & NESS – New England Sustainability Strategy
Guyra, Armidale Dumaresq, Uralla and Walcha Councils

Web based community networking tool

Functions of the web tool
1. Collaborative Design & Construction of web tool
 Define purpose and principles of the web tool with stakeholder input
 Define the functionality and outcomes with recipients (including below)
 Circulate Design Brief and select Web Partner to construct the web tool from at least three
Expressions of Interest
2. Access to and storage of “official” project information (HiCUB, NESS):
 Notices and events
 Promotional stories, pictures and videos
 Best practice instructional documents and videos
 Technical reports
 Meeting minutes
3. Generation & Publishing Content:
 Document and record stories, information & data about sustainability in the New England Region
 Develop templates and tools for the community to self generate and publish content
4. Enable self-organising – ability for community to:
 Form interest groups
 Post information, stories, photos and videos
 Organise events
 Post monitoring information, eg. water quality readings, bird sightings, photos
 Links with other relevant online resources
Relevant partner organisations
 University of New England (UNE) HiCUB monitoring and evaluation team. The UNE team will be
establishing community involvement in data collection for monitoring project outcomes.
 Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water (DECCW), Landscape Modelling & Decision
Support Section, Faulkner Street Armidale. DECCW are working on a Google maps based community
mapping tool to could have relevance to HiCUB.
 Web experts and services – Granite Globe, Pete Arkins Creative Media, Social Ventures Media, GIV
Creative and others to be determined.
Relevant stakeholders
 “Recipients” - organisation capable of delivering regional sustainability projects eg. NESSiE SNELCC,
CWC, SLA, U3CF and others to be determined
 HiCUB Steering Committee and Advisory Group
 NESSiE
 Guyra, Armidale Dumaresq, Uralla and Walcha Councils
 HiCUB – High County Urban Biodiversity & NESS – New England Sustainability Strategy
Guyra, Armidale Dumaresq, Uralla and Walcha Councils

Regional Sustainability Roundtable & Scorecard

Overall task
To develop and form the New England Sustainability Roundtable to be an ongoing forum and dialogue
mechanism for key stakeholders to integrate sustainability initiatives and develop a Regional Sustainability
Scorecard & KPi Framework.
The regional Sustainability Roundtable performs a review function – identifying lessons in regards to what is
working, what isn't working, and what's nearly working that can be improved – as well being a generative
space to identify emerging opportunities and challenges across the wider landscape. In this way key
stakeholders can explore priorities and potential opportunities laying foundations for further partnerships and
collaborations to enable some of the initiatives, supporting further integration and alignment of efforts.
The combined affect of these functions is envisaged to significantly enhance, without compromising, existing
stakeholder governance arrangements – providing options, alternatives and opportunities to further the
sustainability of the New England without in any way obliging this. Stakeholders will be asked to take all care in
this role, however formal responsibility remains the domain of their own governance and decision making
processes.
A useful metaphor to visualise this model is to think of the transition to sustainability as a wheel made up of
many spokes, or stakeholders. The purpose of the Roundtable is to enhance the alignment, integration and
capabilities of all the spokes – both individually and collectively – and in so support the shift to sustainability.
The wheel is a mechanism for the numerous stakeholders in sustainability to identify priority strategies and
actions, with NESS being a 'hub' for collaborative and partnered initiatives to address these priorities.
Component tasks
1. Roundtable
 A New England Sustainability Roundtable will be convened to enable a wide range of
stakeholders to collaboratively design the KPi Scorecard with the purpose of being able to
measure and monitor the sustainability of the Region, inform the identification of priority
initiatives and assess the impacts from their implementation.
2. Ongoing Function
 It is envisaged this Roundtable will continue to meet annually or bi-annually to provide an
ongoing review and planning mechanism, probably as part of the Sustainable Living Expo,
informing the governance, performance and priorities for NESSiE, and investments through the
Sustainability Foundation such as HiCUB.
3. Sustainability Scorecard (KPi Framework)
 Present Sustainability Scorecard to Public Forum (SLEx ’10)
Relevant stakeholders
 HiCUB Steering Committee and Advisory Group
 NESSiE
 Guyra, Armidale Dumaresq, Uralla and Walcha Councils
 Organisations and networks with a key stakeholding in the sustainability of the New England Region
including the below mapping
 HiCUB – High County Urban Biodiversity & NESS – New England Sustainability Strategy
Guyra, Armidale Dumaresq, Uralla and Walcha Councils
Farming the Sun
Overall task
Create opportunities for HiCUB and Farming the Sun activities to support each other and contribute to the
shared outcome and goal of greater energy efficiency and renewable energy usage.
Component tasks
1. Identify opportunities and activities for partnership
 Community events (Wild about Guyra)
 Listing in Armidale Sustainable Living Guide
 Community Information Activities (Walcha Shop Front, SLEx, Uralla Library Display)
 Speaking or Presenting
 Cross promotion (Websites, Newsletters)
2. Pursue joint activities to create new opportunities
 Green Start tender
3. Develop materials to support partnership
 Farming the Sun Flyer for use by HiCUB
 Farming the Sun content for HiCUB Website
 HiCUB content for NESS eNews & Website
Relevant stakeholders
 Other Partner Organisations including SLA, Local Government Authorities, other suppliers of energy
efficiency and renewable energy products and services