Regional Economic Development Planning in New Zealand: Who Owns It?
Professor Paul Dalziel
Professor Caroline Saunders
3. Three New Zealand Case Studies
In the original research project that this paper draws upon, three New Zealand case studies were identified in consultation with the Ministry of Economic Development. This section provides a brief description of the Canterbury, the Eastern Bay of Plenty and the Marlborough regional partnerships.
3.1 The Canterbury regional partnership
When expressions of interest were called from parties wishing to participate in the government's RPP, 13 proposals were received from the Canterbury region. A meeting of eleven of these organisations agreed unanimously that the Canterbury Development Corporation (CDC) would act as the region's lead agency. The CDC is a limited liability trust company founded in 1983 to act as the economic development and employment services arm of the Christchurch City Council (see CDC, 2002). It is wholly owned by the City Council, but is strongly regional in outlook, 'recognising the very real economic and employment impacts of the wider Canterbury region on the Christchurch economyi (CDC, 2002, p. 44). It promotes and facilitates economic growth in the region by working with businesses to improve their management capabilities, helping communities to help themselves, and working alongside key agencies to promote Christchurch and Canterbury as the destination of choice in which to live, invest and do business. It is governed by a Board made up of the Mayor of Christchurch, City Councillors and representatives drawn from the Canterbury
Employers? Chamber of Commerce, the Canterbury Manufacturers' Association and the tertiary education sector.
The CDC obtained resolutions from the local government councils of the Canterbury Forum to be responsible for developing a Canterbury regional economic development strategy (known as CREDS). The Canterbury Forum is a regular informal meeting of Mayors and Chief Executives of eleven local government councils - the Canterbury regional council (Environment Canterbury), the Christchurch City Council, and the District Councils of Ashburton, Banks Peninsula, Hurunui, Kaikoura, MacKenzie, Selwyn, Timaru, Waimakariri and Waimate. A series of workshops and meetings were hosted by CDC around the region in 2000, which provided the basis of its regional development strategy published as Creating Tomorrow's Canterbury in December 2000. The CDC 2002 Annual Report records the progress subsequently made under the regional partnership programme (p. 21). In particular, capability building funding was obtained to further the development of proposals for two major regional initiatives, and to support three sub-regional initiatives. These sub-regional initiatives were to develop a South Canterbury economic profile, to co-ordinate a community approach to water resources in mid-Canterbury, and to assist with the establishment of Enterprise North Canterbury.
A notable feature of the Canterbury regional partnership is that it is a partnership of eleven local government councils (the Canterbury Forum), serviced by the economic development and employment services arm of one of those councils (the CDC). There is some input from local development agencies in South Canterbury (the Aoraki Development Trust), Mid Canterbury (Enterprise Ashburton), and North Canterbury (Enterprise North Canterbury), but there is no formal direct involvement of business, community or Iwi groups in the partnership.
3.2 The Eastern Bay of Plenty regional partnership
The Eastern Bay of Plenty regional partnership was established in 2001 covering three district councils?Kawerau, Opotiki and Whakatane. Some development agencies already existed in the region, including the Whakatane Economic Development Office supported by the Whakatane District Council and a much smaller Kawerau Enterprise Agency. The new partnership took the form of a governance group made up of twelve members: (1) the mayors of each of the three districts; (2) an appointed business person from each district; and (3) six representatives from local M a ori Iwi, nominated by the Mataatua Iwi Forum (for further details, see Kamau-Herring et al., 2002, pp. 2-3). The partnership created a separate management group made up of one employee of each District Council, one Iwi representative and the Whakatane field worker of Te Puni K o kiri (a government department devoted to M a ori development).
In October 2001, the partnership commissioned a team of local consultants to prepare a regional economic development strategy. The team sought to engage key stakeholders through personal contacts, public meetings, open days, a business, education and training forum, Iwi meetings and a mailed survey. Four drafts of the strategy were prepared incorporating feedback from these consultations, and from the governance and management groups, before Kamau-Herring et al. released the final version in August 2002.
The strategy proposed a number of high-level goals. The first was to establish a regional economic development agency (REDA) for the Eastern Bay of Plenty. This agency would appoint a chief executive officer responsible for the operations of the REDA, accountable to a Board of Directors made up of 8-10 people with commercial expertise. The REDA would be required to implement the other high level goals and strategies of the economic development strategy. It would be funded by selling its services to the three district councils (perhaps on a per capita basis), to the Kawerau Enterprise Agency and to any Mataatua Economic Development Agency that might be formed (but not the Whakatane Economic Development Office, which would go into recess). This proved to be sticking point for the partnership as the smaller districts questioned whether their ratepayers would get value for money by investing in a regional development agency based in Whakatane, especially compared to alternative priorities.
3.3 The Marlborough regional partnership
The Marlborough regional partnership had a number of advantages compared to Eastern Bay of Plenty. The partnership covers an area with only one local government council; the region has considerable natural and human resources contributing to high living standards; and the partnership was able to build on processes already under way when the regional partnership programme was introduced in 2000. About two years earlier, a number of local organisations had agreed there needed to be better coordination of activities to promote the region and provide information to potential investors or migrants into the region. An extensive public consultation known as 'Focus Marlborough' similarly recognised that something new was needed to develop the region's strengths and identity. The Marlborough District Council lent its support and provided initial funding to employ an information officer. In contrast to the other two case studies in this paper, the Council did not set up its own economic development office, but instead agreed to act in partnership with an independent Marlborough Economic Development Trust (MEDT).
The MEDT was set up in early 2000 just as the RPP was getting under way. A broadly representative steering committee formed out of the Focus Marlborough consultation oversaw the drafting of a Trust Deed and the appointment of trustees after a public call for nominations. The Deed requires the trustees to participate as individuals and not to represent any particular sector or interest group. The objects of the Trust are to promote Marlborough outside the region, to foster community pride within Marlborough, and to facilitate coordination of organisations in the region involved with regional development. The Council continues to provide some funding, and this ongoing partnership between the Council and Trust provides the foundation of the Marlborough regional partnership, assisted by ongoing advice and support from New Zealand Trade and Enterprise.
The Marlborough Regional Partnership achieved remarkable results in a short time. It commissioned a substantial report, Marlborough Today, outlining the economic context of the region (MEDT, 2001a). Another report, Marlborough Tomorrow, was published as a discussion document for widespread community consultation about priorities for regional development (MEDT, 2001b). This led to a strategic development plan being developed, Progress Marlborough: The New Partnership, which has been updated and revised into a second edition (MEDT, 2001c, 2002). In line with this strategic development plan, three specific projects were quickly underway to create centres of excellence in viticulture, aquaculture and aviation engineering. The first of these three centres was one of the first recipients nationally of a $2 million contribution from the government's Major Regional Initiatives fund.
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