Regional Economic Development Planning in New Zealand: Who Owns It?
Professor Paul Dalziel
Professor Caroline Saunders
5. Project-Based Partnerships
There is some evidence that regional partnerships work best if each member specialises in its particular area of expertise within a framework of cooperation with other partners. In contrast to the approach that sets up a specialised regional economic development agency, this approach expects partners to contribute directly to regional development projects coordinated by the larger regional partnership. This way of operating is well described by Turok (2001, p. 147), reflecting on recent Irish experience:
The partnerships typically operate through about five or six working groups or subcommittees covering themes such as enterprise development, services for the unemployed, community development, education and training, environment and infrastructure, childcare and young people. They involve a wide range of people in developing practical strategies and actions. They include several board members and often a larger number of other individuals drawn from external organisations with a particular expertise in the field concerned. These working groups appear to be the ?engine-rooms' of many partnerships, providing the dynamism, developing the project ideas and creating the links into wider networks that help to make things happen. The partnership board provides the broad direction and performs a formal function in deciding which project proposals are supported financially. The pace and direction in which the partnerships develop varies, depending on the capacities and aspirations of the partners and community organisations.
Project-based partnerships allow for different levels of participation, depending on the interests and resources of each member. This is because there is room for wider representation on the subcommittees than is possible on the partnership board itself, which allows different groups within the region to take ownership of different parts of the partnership's work.
Only one of the three case studies in this study adopted this approach. The Marlborough Economic Development Trust, in association with the Marlborough District Council, identifies key projects that it believes will contribute to regional economic development. The Trust's first strategic plan identified five initiatives for the first three years of its work (MEDT, 2001c, section 7): establish an MEDT office; establish centres of excellence in viticulture, aquaculture and aviation engineering; establish a region-wide water management strategy; establish a sustainable tourism plan; and establish a Marlborough Development Fund. Once the MEDT office was operational, the first priority was the three centres of excellence. This became three distinct projects, operated as joint ventures with the Marlborough District Council and overseen by a joint committee of four people (MEDT, 2001c, Appendix II). Professional project managers were retained to progress each project, assisted by voluntary steering committees that had a more fluid membership. These steering committees helped establish clear and realistic objectives for each project, which then became the criteria by which the success of each project could be judged.
This two-tier approach to setting objectives fits in very well with international best practice. The Trust takes the overall responsibility of identifying key issues that no individual organisation in the region can solve on its own. Each steering committee is then responsible for ensuring that more specific objectives are relevant and feasible, motivating ongoing participation by local organisations and influential individuals in the project. The fact that the regional partnership has implemented its core project of establishing three centres of excellence ahead of schedule confirms the strength of this approach to regional economic development.
The MEDT might be criticised for initially having a relatively narrow business focus. As the partnership developed, however, the work of the Trust broadened to include various community issues. This redefined the property rights of the regional policy and expanded the beneficiaries. At the time of the research project, the MEDT was seeking to formalise this broader approach in the form of a "relationship clusters" structure to develop its specialisation and co-operation function. This is shown in figure 3. Progress Marlborough is a new name being considered for the MEDT, and the figure shows how potential partnerships could be established among organisations with overlapping interests. The MEDT (2002, p. 19) records the objective of these plans as follows:
Both the initial consultation process and subsequent experience has demonstrated the pressing need to better co-ordinate and integrate the planning and delivery of economic and social development activities. ... The Trust has also begun to establish relationships with groups that have overlapping interests. ... Each of the groups will be facilitated by organisations with specific briefs or interest in the target issue. The Economic Development Trust's role will be to provide co-ordination and networking with the other groups.
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