Four Action Teams up and running

Posted on: 21 December 2015

Four of the six new Action Teams that form part of the Southland Regional Development Strategy (SoRDS) have had meetings prior to Christmas, says Tom Campbell, chair of the Governance Group of SoRDS.

The four teams that are underway are:

• New Industries and Innovation – which is actually two teams with one focusing on new industries for the region and the other on innovation within existing industries.
• Inclusive communities – with a focus on the social environment of the region and how it will attract people to the region.
• Vibrant urban communities – where the focus is on creating “great places” for people in the towns and the City of Invercargill.
• Welcome Southland – this team will focus on how Southland can attract permanent migrants and temporary residents (students, guest workers, and tourists) to come to Southland from other areas of NZ and from overseas.

The Team Leaders of each of the teams are Mark O’Connor (with Paul Adams), Anna Stevens, Joc O’Donnell and Penny Simmonds respectively.

“We have said we wanted to get the Strategy programme underway before the end of the year and we have met our self-imposed deadline,” says Mr Campbell.

“The first meetings could all be described as exploratory. Much of the discussion was about defining the task and how they will approach it, but it is a great spring-board for them to go into 2016,” he says.

There are two other Action Teams which are being set up but have yet to have their first meeting which will be in the early New Year. They are “Ease of Doing Business” chaired by Steve Ruru and “Business Extension” chaired by Peter Gow.

“I am expecting the teams to work to different timetables. The challenges differ between the teams and while we want to maintain momentum, we also want to ensure the Teams produce a quality product.

“Their Team Action Plans are due by the 31st July 2016, so there will be no slackening of pace over the next few months,” he says.

At its meeting on Friday, the Mayoral Forum expressed its satisfaction at the progress with the Strategy.

“The project only got going in March this year. The Strategy Report released in late October, and here we are less than nine months from commencement and we have the Strategy operating at full pace,” says Tracy Hicks, Mayor of Gore and the member of the Mayoral Forum responsible for oversight of SoRDS.

“This is a huge opportunity for Southland and we of the Mayoral Forum intend to make the most of it,” he says.

For further information:
Tom Campbell 0272679760
Tracy Hicks, Gore District Council, Enable JavaScript to view protected content.