Date: 11 July 2018
Time: 9.30am-2.00pm
Venue: Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, Cranbourne

Why this workshop?

It is well recognised that each of us has responsibility for ensuring healthy waterways, and if we work collaboratively, we will have greater impact.

This workshop focused on:

• Celebrating our work together since the start of the collaboration in April 2017
• Seeking early feedback on the draft Strategy
• Exploring how we continue to work together to achieve the targets and performance objectives we have set ourselves.

Who attended?

A total of 24 participants attended the workshop:

• 14 participants were external stakeholders who represented a diverse array of groups including: councils, community groups, water authorities, the Catchment Management Authority, VicRoads, and Parks Victoria.
• 10 participants from Melbourne Water teams - Integrated Planning, and Waterways and Land (Service Delivery) - helped support the conversations and provide catchment knowledge.

Part 1: Setting the scene

Daniel Besley (Project Manager, Healthy Waterways Strategy, Melbourne Water) opened the workshop with a call for collective action. He highlighted the pressure climate change and population growth will put on our waterways, and Melbourne Water’s strong commitment to work with others to avoid a decline in waterway health.

Dan also heartily thanked the workshop participants for their commitment to and work on developing a Healthy Waterways Strategy that can be co-owned and co-delivered, since the project began in August 2017.

Facilitator Anna Kilborn invited participants to share significant achievements since the group last met in March. These included:

• Sarah Maclagan, Port Phillip and Westernport Catchment Management Authority, told us about Living Links and the variety of activities they have been up to, including the inaugural Discover Dandenong Creek Festival.
• Ian Morgans, Port Phillip and Westernport Catchment Management Authority, spoke of a fascinating research project where complex maths formulas were used to assess the probability of persistence of indigenous animal species in the Port Phillip and Westernport region. The study, last done in 2008, now draws on a much larger volume of observations and data, highlighting the increasingly important role of citizen science in surveys. The updated study will be released later this year.
• Paul Davies, Kananook Creek Association, shared about a study on Kananook Creek that the association did with other organisations such as universities and councils. He also said that “tactical and operational issues should be front and centre going forward”.

Anna also invited them to share a memorable moment of the collaboration. We heard that collaborators were particularly proud of:

• Transparency in the process of learning
• Engagement between Melbourne Water and the communities

Part 2: Draft Strategy

Dan shared with us:

• The overview of the draft Strategy
• How the 1807 comments received on the preliminary targets and performance objectives had informed the draft
• 69% of a representative sample of residents from the Dandenong catchment support the vision developed for the catchment by the collaborators.

(Download the presentation An overview of the draft Healthy Waterways Strategy (PDF).)

In this process, Scott Seymour, who specialises in natural resource management, stood out for the contributions he made in his personal capacity. Dan highlighted how he had shared his expertise and ideas on not just one, but four catchments. The HWS team presented Scott with a print of a Southern Brown Tree Frog at the Edithvale-Seaford Wetland (photo taken by Deane Anderson) as a token of appreciation for his deep engagement in the consultation.

Participants were then invited to identify parts of the draft Strategy that are:

• On target
• Missing
• Required clarification or outstanding.

(Download the outcomes Workshop participants’ feedback on the draft Strategy (PDF).)

General comments included:

• How useful it is to have the science that drives the Strategy being explained in a conference
• How information and data can be shared via websites and databases to enable accessibility and transparency
• What are the opportunities and gaps to explore, such as the need to have greater direction on education and awareness, and revisiting the stormwater runoff
• How to understand strategies for the priorities at the catchment level
  

Part 3: Looking to the future – How do we implement the strategy together?

In May 2018, we held a regional collaboration lab to develop initial proposals for:
• An on-going platform of collaboration
• Governing the implementation of the Strategy
• Tracking the effectiveness of the Strategy

Margaret Hunter, who was among the 32 attendees, kindly shared her experience of it and the lab outcomes, including examples of collaborations, and issues in the Dandenong catchment that require collaborative action.

(Download the presentation Collaborative Implementation Lab Outcomes (PDF).)

Building on the lab outcomes, Dan presented a proposal for collaborative implementation of the Strategy that built on the lab outcomes. The five key elements of the proposal are:

• A regional HWS committee
• Five catchment implementation forums
• ‘Pop-up’ regional co-design labs
• ‘Pop-up’ catchment project groups
• Activities to assist multi-scale connectivity

(Download the presentation Collaborative Implementation Proposal (PDF).)

Participants were then invited to work in small groups to provide feedback on the proposal. When reporting on their group discussions, the participants expressed general support for the proposal, with feedback including:

• How the proposed governance structure can be turned upside down to reflect a project-driven, rather than top-down, process
• How different channels can be provided for communications and coordination, such as websites, emails and direct contact
• What existing links can be tapped on for collaboration, such as the Integrated Water Management (IWM) forums, Resilient Melbourne and Plan Melbourne
• How can we reach out to and engage important stakeholders who are unable to participate in workshops

(Download the outcomes, Feedback received on the collaborative implementation proposal (PDF).)

Finally, using the Poll Everywhere voting system, participants were asked about their commitment to working together on the implementation of the strategy. The results showed a high level of commitment:

• 73% of respondents were very committed to working together on implementing the Strategy
• 9% were committed to it.

Part 4: Next steps

To close the workshop, Dan Besley thanked the participants and described the next steps in the process, including:

• Consultation period for draft Strategy would close on Sunday 22 July
• Opportunity to ask a question on the draft Strategy via Your Say
• The hope to submit a final draft strategy to Ministers in September
• The plan to get together again in the Spring to continue to collaborate on the implementation of the Strategy.

Part 5: Evaluation from the sensing sheets

The project and each workshop are being evaluated to provide opportunity for ongoing learning. As a final action, participants completed a sensing sheet and provided comments on the design of the workshop and their experience of collaboration.

The response rate was 67% (16 out of 24 participants):

• Nearly all respondents said they would advocate for the Strategy to others around them .
• Two-thirds of respondents felt that they were coming away from the workshops with new ways of thinking .
• About 90% of respondents felt that they were co-owners of the Strategy.

Question: What did you enjoy about this workshop?

Question: As the Strategy is implemented, to what next step are you personally most committed?