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Planning for and identifying community outcomes

This page provides guidance for planning and developing the process to identify community outcomes. Community outcomes provide the basis of the community input to the long term council community plan.

The identification of community outcomes is a discursive activity involving the broader community and generally facilitated by local government. The purpose of identifying community outcomes can be found in section 91(2) of the Local Government Act 2002 (LGA).

Under Section 91(3) of the LGA, the Ministry gives agreement to what your Council decides is the most appropriate process to identify community outcomes in your region or district. The Ministry believes there is no one correct process for identifying outcomes, since communities differ on the desired level of participation and their capacity to express their priorities.

After identifying community outcomes the council must start developing the LTCCP to include all the information outlined in Schedule 10 (part one) to the LGA. More information on how Ministry activities can help councils and their communities work towards achieving outcomes can be found on the Implementing your LTCCP page.

As this is the beginning of the LTCCP process for many councils, best practice and innovative ideas are only just emerging. If you think your council has a good idea, especially for promoting environmental wellbeing, please tell us by emailing environmentalwellbeing@mfe.govt.nz.

Informing your Communities about the Environment

To help inform and guide community outcomes the internet has a range of resources about the environment and how communities can contribute to environmental wellbeing. Read some simple community actions that we can all do to help improve environmental wellbeing. The sustainable households website also provides information about how households can be more sustainable. More information on environmental issues can be found on the Prioritising environmental issues page.

Sustainable development, the Environment and the LGA

The New Zealand Government has agreed to a Sustainable Development Programme of Action to ensure that sustainable development underpins all government activity. This provides a vision for government to work towards achieving the wellbeing of current and future generations. The goals and outcomes in the programme of action reflect the complex relationship between our environment and community wellbeing.

The Programme of Action prioritises four key issues for action. Three of the four issues (fresh water quality and allocation, energy, and sustainable cities) directly affect environmental wellbeing. The Ministry is currently working on these at a national level.

Under the LGA, environmental wellbeing needs to be balanced with social, economic and cultural wellbeing. Key elements of the LGA that reflect the sustainable development approach include:

  • community identified outcomes
  • a strategic or long-term view of planning
  • a participatory vision of planning
  • integrated decision making and use of resources.

Consulting with your communities on outcomes

Consulting is a major part of community planning and progress towards sustainable development. Inclusion of the different kinds of people in your community leads to integrated decision making, helps build consensus and resolves conflict.

There are no rules about how you have to consult to identify community outcomes, which means you can be as inventive and innovative as you like! This gives you a great opportunity to encourage a broader range of people to contribute to community outcomes and long-term community planning. Challenge yourself to get those who don't usually come forward to get involved.

Good Practice Participate is a website designed to help public servants engage successfully with community, voluntary, iwi and Maori organisations. It includes consultation techniques and tips for involving different sectors of the community.

Once the draft LTCCP is compiled it goes through the more formal "special consultative procedure" outlined in section 83 of the LGA.

Working together for shared outcomes

Figuring out when to collaborate with other councils and agencies and for what issues is sometimes difficult. You may choose to and then feel caught up in a collaborative process that is not taking you where you want to go. The State Services Commission has a resource that can help you manage for shared outcomes.

Where to from here?

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Prioritising environmental issues

Implementing your LTCCP

Monitoring environmental outcomes

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Last updated: 27 February 2008