Analysing 10 years of engagement data to develop a draft Community Strategic Plan
Situation Explained
Lord Howe Island lies approximately 700 km northeast of Sydney and southeast of Brisbane, at the same latitude as Port Macquarie, and it is part of the state of New South Wales. The Island is home to around 450 people (2021 Census), but almost doubles during peak holiday season. Lord Howe Island has been World Heritage Listed since 1982, and a State Marine Park since 1998. Lord Howe Island also has a unique legislative framework, outlined under the Lord Howe Island Act 1953. The Lord Howe Island Board (LHIB) carries out responsibilities of a local government, on top of some other responsibilities that would be managed by state or federal governments on the mainland.
In late 2022, LHIB approached us about assisted them in developing an updated Community Strategic Plan (CSP). A CSP summarises the community’s long-term vision for their place and strategies for working toward that vision.
LPC was engaged to support development of the CSP, and develop or update their suite of operational documents that support the delivery of the strategies in the CSP. It was important that CSP reflected the community’s values and vision, responds to the unique planning and budget arrangements on Lord Howe Island and meets the needs of LHIB.
Our Approach
As part of this project, LPC:
- delivered an in-depth policy and legislative review
- prepared a context summary of relevant plans, strategies and legislation
- analysed 10 years of engagement feedback and customer service data for recurring themes
- summarised what community members love about the island, what visitors love about the island, and what community members see as opportunities and challenges for the future on the island
- drafted a community vision based on engagement data
- developed 9 priority themes for the Plan, associated visions for each theme, and objectives and strategies to achieve the community vision.
- summarised how the Plan aligns with relevant State, Federal and global policies, plans, strategies, and matters.
Following the exhibition of the draft, we worked with LHIB to update the draft to reflect engagement feedback.
Results
We worked closely wih LHIB to ensure that we were developing a CSP that would work for them. Many objectives and strategies that we developed based on communtiy values and desires were outside of LHIB’s remit, so it was important to clearly define who would be responsible for delivery on each item.
The final CSP was endorsed and published in late 2024.
After finalising the CSP, we supported LHIB in summarising where engagement feedback and information from the organisation had identified ideas for actions. This process helped to kickstart the next step for LHIB in implementing the CSP, which included a review of current services and commitments, strategic priorities for the Board, and operational planning.