DEVELOPING A CITY TRANSPORT PLAN IN AN URBAN GROWTH AREA – Lessons Learnt

2016 AITPM National Conference28 July 2016

INTRODUCTION

• City of Ipswich Transport Plan (iGO) recently developed

• 26 “lessons learnt” when producing iGO

• Lessons can be used by others when preparing a strategic planning document in a public sector organisation (not just local government)

• Four years of planning & project management effort

• Aspects include drivers, branding, scoping, governance and stakeholder engagement

CITY OF IPSWICH

• Centrally located in South-east Queensland

• Brisbane CBD - 40 minutes Gold Coast - 1 hour

• Queensland’s first regional city

• Renowned for its architectural heritage

• Confluence of three national highways

• Major railway line (SEQ passenger system)

• Amberley – Australia’s premier defence facility (>7000 Airforce & Army personnel)

CITY OF IPSWICH

• Current population = 190,000

• Queensland’s fastest growing city

• 42% of SEQ industrial land stock

• Two CBDs @ Ipswich Central & Springfield Central

• Two ‘master planned’ communities at Springfield & Ripley

population to more than double over the coming decades

CITY OF IPSWICH

• Similar geographical position to Parramatta

• Future of Ipswich is bright with many opportunities for economic growth & community development

CITY OF IPSWICH TRANSPORT PLAN

Branded as ‘iGO’

Outlines Council’s aspirations to advance Ipswich’s transport system as a result of population growth

Will guide future policy, resourcing and investment decision making

Advocacy tool

CITY OF IPSWICH TRANSPORT PLAN

Key outcomes:

Culture shift

Transport & land use integration

Facilitating travel mode choices

CITY OF IPSWICH TRANSPORT PLAN

Key Messages:

Proper resourcing & investment

Clever new thinking

LESSONS LEARNT

DRIVERS

Every good project needs a reason for doing it - a driver – the ‘why’

Learning #1: Having a number of project ‘drivers’ (reasons for doing the project) assisted withobtaining project momentum including necessary budget allocations and securing organisational and stakeholder ‘buy in’.

LESSONS LEARNT

BRANDING

The intention is to use the iGO branding as part of its delivery including corridor studies, infrastructure projects, community programs, public awareness and promotional campaigns.

Learning #2: Giving the project a ‘brand’ was a clever way to raise the profile and positioning of the project and will assist with its marketing, advocacy and subsequent delivery.

LESSONS LEARNT

‘IN HOUSE’ PRODUCTION

Learning #3: Undertaking the greater majority (90%) of the development of iGO ‘in house’ (using internal resources) provided greater control over, and ownership of, the project’s inputs, outputs, outcomes and intellectual property that will have future corporate capacity benefits for Council in the delivery of iGO.

LESSONS LEARNT

PROJECT TEAM - Structure

LESSONS LEARNT

PROJECT TEAM – Executive Sponsor

Learning #4: Establish a project team with not only a:

(1) ‘Project Director’ To lead project resourcing, inception and scoping and provide guidance and mentorship to the Project Manager;

But also an :

(2) ‘Executive Sponsor’ To ensure senior management ownership of the project and its outcomes;

LESSONS LEARNT

PROJECT TEAM – Project Manager

Learning #5: Appoint a dedicated Project Manager with a specific position description created for the role and a remuneration level suitable for a role with key performance targets and a degree of working autonomously.

LESSONS LEARNT

PROJECT TEAM – Project Manager

Learning #6: Select a Project Manager who has the following attributes:

(1) Strategic thinker;

(2) Liking of the subject matter and thus a desire to achieve quality outputs;

(3) Able to establish good working relationships with stakeholders;

(4) Happy to perform ‘day to day’ operational tasks;

Preferably with:

(5) Some local knowledge; and

(6) An understanding of the organisation’s processes.

The role may best be filled by an existing employee within the organisation whom could be seconded into the position for the project duration.

LESSONS LEARNT

PROJECT TEAM – Strategic Advisor

Learning #7: Appoint an external Strategic Advisor with substantial expertise in the project’s subject matter to provide guidance and direction to the Project Manager - particularly during the inception, scoping and project planning phases.

LESSONS LEARNT

PROJECT TEAM – Technical Working Group

Learning #8: Establish a small Technical Working Group to obtain input from others areas of expertise within the organisation.

LESSONS LEARNT

POLITICAL CHAMPION

Learning #9: Having an enthusiastic ‘Political Champion’ provided project leadership, ownership and momentum at the political level.

LESSONS LEARNT

GOVERNANCE

Learning #10: Establishing a Steering Group, as part of the project’s governance structure, provided direction to the project team and assisted with effective, timely and robust decision making. Membership of the Steering Group was a mix of politicians and senior bureaucrats as well state government representation.

LESSONS LEARNT

REPORTING

Learning #11: Providing regular reports to Council (through the standing committee governance process) ensured all politicians were ‘kept in the loop’ and thus part of the project ‘journey’.

LESSONS LEARNT

QUEENSLAND GOVERNMENT ‘BUY IN’

Learning #12: Obtaining project ‘buy in’ from the relevant State Government agency (through actions, not just words) ensured it was a strategic transport plan for the city, not just a strategic plan for the organisation.

LESSONS LEARNT

STRATEGIC PHASING

Learning #13: Identifying and then consistently following a strategic phasing for the project informed the detail project plan / schedule and allowed others outside the project team to follow the development of iGO and its progress in a simplistic manner.

LESSONS LEARNT

SCOPING

Learning #14: Identifying the project scope (including out of scope items) and getting it approved by Council allowed the Project Team to develop iGO with confidence and certainty.

LESSONS LEARNT

SCOPING

Learning #15: Whilst taking longer to produce, scoping iGO with some substance and commitments (not just a ‘motherhood’ document) produced a practical document that will allow for Council’s future budgets, transport planning activities, operational strategies, policy development and infrastructure projects to be readily linked back to iGO and its outcomes and brand.

LESSONS LEARNT

HORIZON

Learning #16: Using a population target, rather than a specific timeframe, as iGO’s planning horizon aligns with Queensland Government regional planning objectives, ensures a level of commitment to actions yet allows some degree of flexibility and resilience to the document and its outcomes.

LESSONS LEARNT

BUDGET

Learning #17: Budget the development of a strategic planning document depending on its scope and the production values of the outputs.

LESSONS LEARNT

BUDGET

Learning #18: If to be used as an advocacy tool, funding used to develop a strategic planning document should be seen as an investment rather than a cost.

LESSONS LEARNT

DURATION

Learning #19: When preparing the project plan, set realistic timeframes for the development of strategic planning documents. This includes not rushing outputs for the sake of meeting ambit deadlines but with the Project Director ensuring there is momentum throughout each development phase.

LESSONS LEARNT

MODELLING

Learning #20: Whilst important to undertake, don’t put too much emphasis on the transport modelling tasks when developing a citywide strategic transport plan as it will impact on time and costs and effect project momentum.

LESSONS LEARNT

MODELLING

Learning #21: Traffic modelling is best suited to be done at an area or corridor level rather than the citywide level.

LESSONS LEARNT

STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT

Learning #22: Developing and implementing an approved Marketing & Communications Plan provided the project team with the opportunity to position the project with key stakeholders, gain valuable input about community aspirations, obtain the support from potential project advocates and secure positive media relationships.

LESSONS LEARNT

PRODUCTION VALUES – Plan Structure

Learning #23: Structuring the iGO document with a (1) Fast Facts; (2) Executive Summary and (3) Technical sections allowed it be accessible and easily comprehended by the various target audiences.

LESSONS LEARNT

PRODUCTION VALUES – Graphic Design

Learning #24: Embedding a graphic designer into the project team during part of the iGO development process ensured the free flow of creative ideas and high production values.

LESSONS LEARNT

PURPOSE

Learning #25: Having a clear well defined and understood project purpose is where individuals can draw their strength from.

LESSONS LEARNT

LEADERSHIP

Learning #26: Demonstrating strong leadership by knowing and believing that you are doing the right thing and ‘sticking to your guns’ is critical to eventual project success.

CONCLUSION

The development of iGO is considered a major accomplishment at both the political and bureaucratic levels.

However the true measure of its success will be in its implementation over the coming years.