This entry discusses then trial of the EDA Rural and Remote Worksho p Program, undertaken in July 2011. This program has recently been adopted as a National program, with all other states hopefully finding the positive environment so far experiences by Western Australian practitioners.
Mukinbudin is a fairly typical Western Australian wheatbelt town, with a small community, predominantly revolving around the regions farming operations. A community bank had previously been set up by the community, with real benefits starting to flow throughout the town from the profits this generates.
Interestingly the community bank was yet to be identified as a economic development element of the town, although to me this is the single most important ED initiative undertaken within the town in many years. The community bank model is local economic development at its purest (there may be a later post exploring this further given my community bank background), and yet is not understood in this context within most of the communities that have effected them.
Where Mukinbudin was different to may similar communities was their overt understanding that they needed to do something to ensure that their community survived (and hopefully thrived) into the future, and that these actions needed to be initiated at the local level. The advantage this understanding provides to the community cannot be understated.
As this was a trial I have included extracts from the final report that was written following this exercise in case people are interested in the program itself.
The trial was conducted with the community of Mukinbudin in Western Australia. Mukinbudin is located 300km North-East of Perth, in the North-Eastern Wheatbelt and has a shire population of around 800. This community was identified by Keith McQueen, WA Community Enterprise Manager with the Bendigo Bank (and EDA member) as being ideal for the trial.
The Mukinbudin Shire Chief Executive Officer, Trevor Smith, was the contact point for setting up the trial and providing direction regarding the current needs and aspirations of the community with regards to the proposed economic development sessions.
Calls for interest in delivering the Mukinbudin program were sent out through the EDA membership, with the final team being Simon Millcock, Trevor Ayers, Cassandra Stipanicev and William Barry. It was decided to undertake the program over a weekend so as to minimise the time away from work for the people involved, with the 23-25 of July chosen. The presenters organised their travel to Mukinbudin with the Shire picking up the accommodation costs and the majority of meals.
The program was built around Jay Hardison’s Economic Development Toolbox presentation, originally developed for SEGRA 2009. The full program consisted of:
· Friday evening - introduction and overview of background of EDA presenters.
· Saturday morning – Economic Development Toolbox presentation.
· Saturday afternoon – informal community interaction. This was built around all Mukinbudin sporting teams (football, netball and hockey) having ‘home’ games and the majority of the community being committed to these sports either through playing or assisting.
· Sunday morning – facilitated community discussion regarding opportunities for progression.
Outcomes
Overall the trial was seen as a success by the practitioners involved in the delivery and appears to have also provided value to the community of Mukinbudin from the comments received from participants.
The toolbox presentation was a very valuable resource, although some rewrites are required to better reflect its delivery to a local community rather than ED specialists. The team believed its current focus was a little too local government focused.
The initial introductory panel session gave a good starting point, however requires a level of structure that the team should work on prior to arriving. Rather than everyone talking off-the-cuff, a minimalistic PowerPoint presentation by each of the ED practitioners would improve the focus.
The facilitated workshop on the final morning was an integral part of the weekend and provided the opportunity for community members to open dialogue amongst themselves, in a structured manner. Providing a report of these discussions resulted in a concrete outcome that the community can then work from, as well as allowing all members of the community to have input rather than one or more designated to capture the information themselves.
The mix of the EDA members involved in this program was excellent. No two members had similar backgrounds and experiences, so everybody added significant value.
Community Concerns Arising from the Discussions
· Local economy highly dependent on agriculture. Too much reliance on agriculture limits the options for the future.
· Ageing Infrastructure
· Access to power & water
· Land ownership
· Ageing population & retaining the younger population
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