As with all strategic approaches, a Local Housing Strategy should include an action plan that covers:
- key strategies
- prioritised actions and task lists
- targets (including timeframes)responsibilities
- resources available.
To develop the action plan, you will need to clarify:
- What resources are available? What is the source of funding for aspects of the strategy? What staff resources or other support must be dedicated to implementing each action identified in the strategy?
- Who is responsible for what? Sometimes it is appropriate to identify a lead individual, section of council, or organisation, as well as those responsible for providing support.
- What is the timeframe for implementing actions under the strategy? When should key actions be commenced and completed? Do some actions take priority? Are some actions dependent on the outcomes of others?
- What mechanisms will ensure ongoing community involvement in implementing the strategy? How will you ensure ongoing collaborative relationships with other organisations, such as local housing providers or neighbouring councils?
The responsibility for delivering housing strategy goals within council can be a vexed question, usually because the issue is a shared interest of various elements of council rather than of narrow interest. As a consequence, Local Housing Strategies incorporate actions across a number of functional areas of council, particularly planning and community services.
In addition to identifying people responsible for each action, it is wise to identify a lead project officer, who will be responsible for overall coordination and monitoring of the strategy. This person may:
- maintain and update the data contained in your housing market analysis
- provide advice to planning staff on the potential impact of a particular development on the availability of, or need for, low-cost housing, and assist in the design of strategies to mitigate this impact. (It is helpful to have a formal protocol to identify development applications that may have significant housing implications.)
- establish and maintain contacts with external stakeholders, such as social housing providers, resident and tenant groups, and key developers
- gain input and support from interested councillors in developing and implementing key aspects of the housing strategy, through periodic meetings, workshops, and regular briefing material
- provide regular advice to council about progress, including special briefings on any potentially controversial strategies or decisions.
One approach used by some councils in managing strategic issues is to establish a high level (that is, Director) interdepartmental group. An interdepartmental working party to look at mechanisms for the integration of a housing strategy with other management and planning processes could be a useful first step in developing the appropriate process for your council.
Many large-scale projects also have a “sponsor”, who has no day-to-day role in implementation, but who expresses organisational commitment to the project’s success, intervenes to smooth over sensitivities and any high-level difficulties should they occur, and who has sufficient standing to engage with other agencies, businesses or tiers of government at a senior level.