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Community Relations Strategy

Download: Working with Communities - Bay of Plenty Regional Council's Community Relations Strategy 2010 (257KB, pdf)

Executive Summary

Bay of Plenty Regional Council aims to 'work with our communities for a better environment' by engaging more people in the Bay of Plenty who actively care for the environment.

To achieve this we use community relations tools to gain people's attention, hold their interest, arouse a desire for a better environment and obtain action. We also use a variety of other methods including resource consents, regulation, advice and incentives.

As an organisation, we acknowledge that sound, effective community relations will not happen by default; instead we must document, discuss and adopt a strategy to provide guidelines for the entire organisation and then implement it with councillors and staff. This document initiates this process.

Bay of Plenty Regional Council's future direction will be driven by these principles:

  • Our key focus will continue to be on environmental protection and enhancement.
  • Leadership in regional activities will continue to be an important role for us.
  • While we will focus on the environmental well-being of the community, we will also continue to play a broad role in promoting social, economic and cultural well-being.
  • Councillors and staff will work collaboratively using a team approach to help the organisation achieve its mission statement and goals.

Bay of Plenty Regional Council will use marketing, communications, education and engagement methods to support these principles.

Purpose of this document

The purpose of this document is to present a strategy that outlines the way Bay of Plenty Regional Council councillors and staff develop relationships in the Bay of Plenty community so that we can help deliver a better environment. ii Bay of Plenty Regional Council Community Relations Strategy 2010

Scope

This report explores communications, education, engagement and marketing. In particular, it focuses on:

  • Who we are, what we do and how we do it (our organisational values).
  • Our target audiences and how we develop relationships with them, in particular focusing on individuals, groups, organisations, hapu/iwi, businesses and other stakeholders.
  • How we will measure our performance.

Intended use

It is intended that the material contained in this strategy will guide councillors and staff from 2005 until 2010 when the strategy will be reviewed.

This is a strategy for the entire organisation, not just the Community Relations group. All councillors and staff are ambassadors for the organisation and represent brand touch points i.e. communities will form views of Bay of Plenty Regional Council each time they come into contact with any of these people.

Working with Communities is for internal use at Bay of Plenty Regional Council and will show broadly how we will use community relations tools to help achieve the goals of the organisation.

Outcomes

The principles and guidelines set out in this integrated strategy will be implemented through three key documents, these being the marketing and communications plan, the education plan and the engagement plan. All three plans will have clearly defined objectives with measurable outcomes. They will be developed throughout 2006 and will be accompanied by annual implementation schedules.

'Environment'

The term 'environment' is used in this document to mean not only the natural and physical resources of the region, but the economic, cultural and social settings for people in the Bay of Plenty.