Burra Community Management CommitteeStrategic Plan 2013-2014

Why do we need a Strategic Plan?The Regional Council of Goyder supported the establishment of Town Management Committees (later Community Man-agement Committees) during the 1990s - mainly aimed providing smaller communities with a point of connection withCouncil and an opportunity to manage and gain financial benefit from Council-owned assets in their towns. As the largesttown in the Council area, with many committees providing the activity and coordination that is done by CMCs in smallertowns, it was not originally considered necessary to set up a CMC in Burra. However a number of community leaders sawthe value in having a CMC, and the Burra Community Management Committee was incorporated on 28 June 2008.

Originally intended to provide a point of coordination between the many committees and groups in Burra, and to providea single point of communication between Council and the Burra community for issues requiring consultation, the groupsoon became involved with town projects (such as Burra Creek beautification). Over the past five years of its operation,the original intent of providing a coordination and information role gradually gave way to a projects-based approach.While the projects made a valuable contribution to the town, the CMC was keen to reinvigorate the original intent ofcross-community coordination and information sharing.

To this end, the Burra CMC convened a workshop, held on Monday 22nd July 2013, to which all Burra committees andgroups were invited. Thirty three people attended the workshop, representing twenty five groups. The workshop reaf-firmed that the key role of the Burra CMC was to provide an information conduit within the Burra community, and be-tween the community and Council.

This Strategic Plan was developed using the feedback and directions set at the workshop. As with all organisations enter-ing into strategic planning for the first time, the early focus of the plan is on getting the systems in place. Therefore thetimelines for the Plan are relatively short (2013-2014). Once this plan has been achieved, the Burra CMC should conductanother planning workshop to set more ambitious goals with longer timelines.

Burra CMC Strategic Plan 2013-2014

Our prioritiesPeople at the workshop identified four priorities:

1. Sharing information so that groups in Burra are informed about what’shappening, and can support each other’s activities and projects● Establishing and maintaining a database of groups, activities and volunteers● Modelling good information sharing practices at meetings● Encouraging the use of social media to disseminate information

2. Attracting volunteers● Developing a common approach to attracting new volunteers● Helping volunteers to choose activities and groups they’re interested in● Supporting the amalgamation of groups that are struggling to survive

3. A strong voice with Council● Providing a point of contact for Council when consulting with the community● Providing a strong and cohesive community voice to

Council in regard to Burra issues

4. A central point for positivity, ideas and opportunities● Helping groups develop, plan and implement new ideas

that support Burra’s social, environmental and economicdevelopment

Burra CMC Strategic Plan 2013-2014

Strategy 1: Getting the systems in place Burra CM

C Strategic Plan 2013-2014

The Strategic Plan is based on four main strategies,that use a stepped approach to achieving our priorities:

1. Get the systems in place2. Model good communication3. Connect visitors, volunteers and groups4. Build on the positives

We’re being realistic

1.1 Set up and manage a simple list of groups, contact person and activities/projects:● Set up a spreadsheet or online survey to collect and collate the information● Send contact details to all groups so that they can make direct connections

1.2 Find out what information the groups need about new volunteers, and how they would like to be informed aboutenquiries, and set up a spreadsheet that manages this information. See for attracting volunteers.

1.3 Coordinate information about a community calendar:● Ask groups to provide a list of scheduled events/activities for 2013/2014 (including meetings/AGMs)● Update this list every six months, following the CMC combined groups workshop ( )● Send the list out to all groups and involve Council’s Tourism Officer so that we all get maximum

attendance, cross-group involvement, and reduce the chance of events clashing with each other1.4 Feed information into the , and encourage groups and businesses to advertise or sponsor the

so we have continued communication to all members of the community.

Strategy 2: Modelling good communication Burra CM

C Strategic Plan 2013-2014

2.1 Twice a year, convene a workshop for all Burra groups. Use this time to discuss ideas, develop opportunities andfind out what’s going on in the town.

● Use this workshop to update the group contact database so that you know it’s up to date (saves a lotof work chasing up later)

● At the first workshop, discuss how you will attract volunteers, and the process for linking volunteersand groups

● At the second workshop, review what you’ve achieved in this Strategic Plan, and set new goals● Immediately after each workshop, provide an update to Council about Burra issues and what the com-

munity is doing (or would like to do) to address these - ideally ask to be allowed to present to aCouncil meeting so Elected Members and staff have a chance to ask questions

2.2 Identify key ‘information disseminators’ (e.g. Broadcaster, Visitor Centre, Council, Townhall, Galleries, Cafes) andmake sure they’re up to date with what’s happening and where visitors can get involved in activities.

2.3 Encourage all groups to learn about and use Social Media to share information and events updates.

2.4 Remind groups to put ‘information sharing’ on their agendas - ideally this is done at the beginning before thestandard meeting process takes over. CMC members on other groups should take leadership in this.

2.5 When asked by Council to consult with the community: collaborate with Council to identify the purpose, scopeand how the findings will be used. Before you start, ensure that there is sufficient time to engage with a broadcross section of groups so that the findings can be representative of the views of the community.

Strategy 3: Connect visitors, volunteers and groups Burra CM

C Strategic Plan 2013-2014

3.1 See , develop a volunteer register, and , agree on how to refervolunteers to groups. Help groups to move away from the idea of competing for vol-unteers, instead work together to increase the total pool of volunteers and developways of sharing volunteers so that people can do their ‘thing’ in a range of groups.

3.2 Help groups to understand and use the ‘Burst of Action’ approach, asking people tobe involved in particular activities or projects, rather than to join a committee.

3.3 Develop a Volunteer Marketing Plan, that promotes the fun of volunteering (see ) and encourages locals andvisitors to get involved. Link this to the events calendar - e.g. people staying at the Caravan Park may be veryhappy to help out if they knew they were welcome and could talk to the organisers to get more information.

3.4 Create a flier for visitors “This is what you can get involved in while you’re in Burra” and put it out around thetown. Use the Broadcaster to showcase the range of volunteering opportunities in Burra.

3.5 Liaise with the Visitor Centre to actively promote volunteering activities to visitors and new residents - get thisinformation on the Burra website, people are more likely to relocate to a town where they are encouraged to joinin, can get involved and feel connected to the community.

3.6 For groups that are forced to close because of low numbers, limited funding or shifting interests, help those stillinvolved to transition to another group so that their interest and knowledge is not lost (refer , they probablywon’t want to join the committee - but may be happy to take on a role with less responsibility).

3.7 Work with the Mid North Knowledge Partnership to set up emergency services training in Burra so that peoplecan train and gain a qualification without leaving the area.

Plan and Review (committee role)

Do

DoDo

DoGet volunteers involved in

© KPPMBurst of Action Model

Strategy 4: Build on the positivesThe CMC has shown that it can run with a good idea - there are many projects around Burra that have been initiated orchampioned by the Burra CMC. The workshop group was keen to create a forum where people could talk about what’shappening in their groups and ‘cook up’ positive new ideas. The simple process of making better connections betweengroups will help create opportunity, and organised get-togethers will help groups find ways of working together toachieve big projects or simply share resources. To be successful as a coordinating group, the Burra CMC needs betterrepresentation from local groups.

Burra CMC Strategic Plan 2013-2014

4.1 We will look critically at whether we need more committee members, or a different way of involving groups. Asmall committee that can pull in people for planning, activities and consultation will be more effective than a bigcommittee - and it will allow other groups to contribute without placing an additional burden on their over-stretched members.

4.2 See , convene a twice-yearly information sharing and ideas generation meeting that involves all Burragroups. Be clear that our role is to bring people together and facilitate discussion, not to take responsibility forall the good ideas that come out of these workshops.

4.3 Work with the other committees in Burra - actively demonstrate and promote a positive mindset. Burra a greatplace to visit, live and invest - listen to our visitors and incorporate their ideas into the workshop.

4.4 The Visitor Centre is an important partner to connect with visitor ideas and volunteering - and thefor getting positive ideas out into the community, make sure their voices are heard.

4.5 Other town CMCs are active and forward-thinking. Connect with them so that the CMCs are learning from eachother and sharing ideas. A strong CMC network is a terrific community and economic development tool.

4.6 We’ll keep doing the projects we love - sometimes we’re the group best placed to do them.4.7 We will ‘bang our own drums’, making sure that groups, Council and the community know what we’re doing and

the benefit it’s bringing to Burra.

How do we do it all? Burra CM

C Strategic Plan 2013-2014

This section shows a schedule for implementation, and reminds us that many of the strategies require different ways ofthinking and doing - not necessarily more work.

Action Rationale Who can help? Fits with strategy

1. Set up the group and volunteerdatabase

As a result of the workshop, people areinterested - keep the momentum hap-pening

Council, Visitor Centre, all groups are re-sponsible for providing their informationin a timely manner

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2. Set time at every committeemeeting to discuss the strategy

Shift the focus from ‘doing’ to ‘planningand coordinating’, this is the value weprovide to the groups in Burra

If we’re discussing projects that affectother groups, invite them

(if they enjoy themselves, they mightstay)

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3. Compile a combined Burra eventscalendar, publish it in the

This dovetails onto Action 1 (database),and helps to provide an on-going dia-logue with other groups

Work with Council’s Tourism Officer, theVisitor Centre and - theyprobably have good lists, and our infor-mation will help them

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4. Get together with the otherCMCs to see what they’re doing -what can we learn?

The CMCs are working in isolation, allwould benefit from finding out what theother towns are doing - start with Tour-ism as the topic, the more we coordinate,the better for tourism and our economy

Hallett will help convene and facilitate themeeting, Council’s Tourism Officer, theVisitor Centre and the shouldbe involved

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5. Convene our next 6 monthly ‘allgroups forum’ with the main top-ic being “attracting and sharingvolunteers”

Use this forum to develop a VolunteerMarketing Plan, and gain group commit-ment to a common approach. We’ll makesure our emergency services come first.

Form a small cross-group working partyto organise the event and develop andimplement the Volunteer Marketing Plan

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6. Check our progress By mid 2014, we’ll have achieved a lot -it’s time to review progress and set outour next action list

We’ll let the other groups know that thisis on the agenda, and invite them to be apart of our review and planning meetingwhen this occurs

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