Addendum Agenda of Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Local Board

Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Local Board

16 September 2014

Draft Community Grants Policy

File No.: CP2014/20906

Purpose

1. To seek local board feedback on the draft Community Grants Policy (Attachment A) and provide an overview of public feedback on the policy for members’ consideration. The report also briefly outlines the key components of the draft policy, proposes a transitional approach to establishing a multi-board grants programme, and discusses the budgetary implications of the policy.

Executive summary

2. On 3 July 2014 the Regional Strategy and Policy Committee (the Committee) endorsed a new draft Community Grants Policy (CGP) for local board engagement and public consultation.

3. The draft CGP has been developed to guide the allocation of local, multi-board and regional grants to groups and organisations delivering projects, activities and services that benefit Aucklanders. It covers grants for community development, arts and culture, events, sport and recreation, environment and heritage.

4. The draft CGP proposes a new community grants programme aligned to Auckland Council’s governance structure, with:

a) a local component (21 local grants programmes and a ‘multi-board’ grants programme, governed by local boards and aligned with local board plans), and

b) a regional component (six regional grants programmes aligned to strategic directions in the Auckland Plan, with governing body decision-making).

5. Community grants are a critical tool to implement Auckland’s vision as set out in the Auckland Plan, local board plans and the council’s core regional strategies, policies and plans. The draft CGP provides a regional framework for grant-making by Auckland Council, while ensuring flexibility for local boards to shape their own grants programme to respond to the specific needs and priorities of their communities. To reflect this, and give effect to local boards’ decision-making role in relation to local grants, staff propose that each local board be supported to develop an individual schedule to the CGP that sets out the specific outcomes, priorities and structure of their local grants programme.

6. The draft CGP proposes that local boards be supported to form a range of new, outcome-driven multi-board clusters. However to achieve a smooth transition from the interim funding arrangements to the new grants programme, staff propose that the existing joint funding committees and subcommittees form the basis of four multi-board clusters for the 2015-2016 financial year. Although this would mean that the current ‘membership’ of these clusters would continue for the first year, this is the only aspect that would remain the same.

7. Once adopted, the CGP will replace an interim community funding programme that has operated since amalgamation, consisting of more than 50 local and legacy ‘city-wide’ grants schemes and a small number of regional grants schemes. The community grants budgets inherited from the legacy councils are currently over-subscribed, especially at the regional level. To fully implement the CGP and deliver on the transformational shifts, staff propose additional investment of $2 million p.a. be considered through the Long-term Plan process 2015-2025. This will increase the amount of funding for regional grants to a more viable level, without reducing the existing funding envelope for local and multi-board grants.

Staff attended local board workshops to discuss the draft policy during July and August 2014, to support the provision of formal local board feedback on the CGP during September and October. Public feedback on the CGP was invited between 14 July and 11 August, and a summary of this input is provided (Attachments B and C).

Recommendation/s

That the Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Local Board:

a) Endorse the Community Grants Policy as a regional framework for the Auckland Council community grants programme, noting that the local board will be supported to develop an individual schedule to the policy that sets out the specific outcomes, priorities and structure of their local grants programme.

b) Provide feedback on any policy provisions of specific interest or concern to the local board, for consideration during the review and finalisation of the Community Grants Policy.

c) Indicate whether they support the proposal to participate in an interim ‘multi-board cluster’ with Albert-Eden Local Board, Orakei Local Board, Puketapapa Local Board, and Waitemata Local Board to consider jointly supporting projects and activities of mutual benefit, noting that if this is agreed:

i) staff will work with participating local boards to agree funding priorities and terms of reference for the cluster;

ii) participating local boards will continue to hold their funds separately within the cluster, and can choose whether or not to allocate funds towards individual grant applications on a case-by-case basis;

iii) additional multi-board clusters can still be explored, and will be supported wherever feasible;

iv) the cluster is a transitional arrangement and would exist for the duration of the 2015-2016 financial year only, unless otherwise agreed by the participating local boards.

Comments

Background

8. A discussion paper outlining the key elements, issues and options for a new Community Grants Policy (CGP) was work-shopped with local boards during March and April 2014. Workshops were also held to test draft approaches with the governing body and key stakeholders in May. A summary of the feedback received is provided (Attachment D).

9. Feedback on the discussion paper informed the preparation of a draft CGP, which was reported to the Regional Strategy and Policy Committee (the Committee) on 3 July 2014. The Committee endorsed the draft CGP for local board engagement and public consultation.

10. Staff attended local board workshops to discuss the draft policy during July and August 2014, to support the provision of formal local board feedback on the CGP during September and October.

Summary of draft Community Grants Policy approach

11. The draft Community Grants Policy proposes a framework for a new Auckland Council community grants programme with two main components: a local grants programme (incorporating multi-board grants) and a regional grants programme.

Local grants programme

12. Local grants are a key tool local boards can use to implement the vision set out in their local board plans, and provide a direct, tangible way of supporting local community aspirations and responding to local needs and opportunities.

13. At the local level the CGP is not intended to be prescriptive, but rather to provide a framework and guidelines that will assist local boards to deliver best practice in grant-making. This approach responds directly to feedback received from local boards during consultation on the draft Community Funding Policy in May 2012.

14. The draft CGP proposes that each local board is supported to operate their own local grants programme under the broader umbrella of the CGP, and can award grants to groups and organisations, projects, services, events and activities that benefit residents in their local board area. Boards will be supported to develop specific funding priorities for their grants programme, drawing on the priorities set out in their local board plans.

15. Two grant schemes are proposed to operate through the local grants programme:

a) Fast Response Local Grants (up to $1,000)

Applicants for Fast Response Local Grants will complete simplified application and accountability processes. Funding rounds are proposed to be held more regularly, and timeframes for decision-making and payment will be kept as short as possible to ensure responsiveness to the community.

b) Local Grants (over $1,000)

Local Grants are for larger amounts and are proposed to be distributed only once or twice per year, to enable the local board to consider how best to allocate their limited grants budget to deliver the local outcomes they are seeking. Applicants for Local Grants will complete application and accountability processes proportionate to the size of the grant they are seeking. Grants can be ‘one-off’ awards, or a commitment to fund over multiple years (up to a full political term).

Local board grants programme schedule

16. A regional briefing for local board chairs and portfolio holders was held on 30 June 2014 to provide an overview of the proposed policy and discuss next steps ahead of reporting to the Committee.

17. At the briefing, questions were raised about the policy’s recognition of local boards’ decision-making allocation in this area. Although the policy does provide sufficient flexibility for local boards to exercise this decision-making, it was felt this authority needed to be made more explicit. Following further discussion, it was agreed that this could be achieved by working with local boards to shape the structure and intent of their individual local grants programmes. Once the local board has agreed and adopted their programme, this can become a schedule to the policy. This approach was endorsed by local board chairs at the Chairs Forum on 28 July.

18. Each individual local board grants programme schedule could include:

a) Outcomes sought through the local grants programme (driven by local board plans) Any specific local funding priorities

b) The types of funding opportunities available through the local grants programme

c) Any specific eligibility criteria or exclusions that are additional to the baseline provisions of the CGP

d) Any other factors the local board consider to be significant to their decision-making.

19. Staff will work with local boards between February and April 2015 to develop and adopt their local grants programme schedules, and an implementation plan will be prepared for each local board to sit alongside the schedule (outlining key operational aspects such as the number and timing of funding rounds).

20. Local boards will be able to review and update their schedules over time as strategic priorities and budgets change.

Proposed multi-board grants programme

21. The draft CGP proposes that local boards be supported to form a range of new, outcome-driven multi-board clusters. These clusters will invite applications from, and award grants to organisations, services, projects, events and activities that benefit residents across their combined areas. Local boards could participate in more than one cluster.

22. Multi-board clusters may be:

a) Groups of local boards with contiguous boundaries, for example southern local boards wanting to support events in the Southern Initiative area

b) Local boards that share a common characteristic or interest, for example high populations of older people, or bordering the Hauraki Gulf

c) Local boards that want to address a common issue, for example by supporting employment programmes targeting marginalised young people.

23. Staff will engage with local boards to scope and establish appropriate clusters, which may be in response to a need or opportunity identified by their communities, or to deliver strategic outcomes they have mutually identified in their local board plans. Once local boards have instigated (or agreed to participate in) a multi-board cluster, council staff will work with the participating boards to understand the outcomes sought, and design a grants programme to deliver these.

24. Applicants seeking support from a multi-board cluster will make one combined application to all participating local boards in the cluster, will receive a single decision notification and grant award, and will submit one accountability report when their funded activities have been completed.

Implementation of the multi-board grants programme

25. To achieve a smooth transition from the interim funding arrangements to the new grants programme, staff propose that the existing joint funding committees and subcommittees form the basis of four multi-board clusters for the 2015-2016 financial year.

26. Although this would mean that the current ‘membership’ of these clusters would continue for the first year, this is the only aspect that would remain the same. Participating local boards would agree new funding priorities and terms of reference with the other local boards in that cluster, have discretion over the amount of their local funding to set aside for considering multi-board applications, and support applications on a case-by-case basis.

27. This phased approach would enable a multi-board grants programme to launch in 2015 alongside the new local grants programmes with minimum additional preparation, given that the joint funding committees and subcommittees have some existing structure in place that could be used as a guide (e.g. delegated local board representatives, approximate schedule of funding rounds, and an existing pool of applicants). Staff could work with these existing multi-board clusters to develop appropriate funding priorities for the transitional year. This approach would be a good test for the model and enable refinements to the process to be agreed with local boards, while minimising any initial impact on community organisations.

28. The current geographical clusters of local boards (i.e. the joint funding committees aligned to the former city and district council areas in the Auckland region) are:

a) Northern cluster: Devonport-Takapuna, Kaipatiki, Upper Harbour (Northern Metro Subcommittee) Hibiscus and Bays, Rodney (Former RDC Subcommittee)

b) Southern cluster: Franklin, Howick, Mangere-Otahuhu, Manurewa, Otara-Papatoetoe, Papakura (note that suitable arrangements would need to be developed with the southern local boards, as they have not been operating as a cluster)

c) Western cluster: Henderson-Massey, Waitakere Ranges, Whau

d) Central cluster: Albert-Eden, Great Barrier (optional), Maungakiekie-Tāmaki, Orakei, Puketapapa, Waiheke, Waitemata

29. In addition, if boards wish to establish and resource other clusters, this could also be supported where feasible.

30. If this approach is agreed, the transitional arrangements would be reviewed prior to the financial year commencing 1 July 2016. At this time, the clusters could either continue, or additional and/or alternative clusters could be established.

Regional grants programme

31. It is proposed that the governing body of Auckland Council, through its various committees, will award grants to regionally significant organisations, services, events and activities that benefit residents across Auckland. At the regional level the CGP proposes six activity-focused grants programmes aligned to strategic directions outlined in the Auckland Plan.

32. The proposed regional grants programmes are:

a) Regional Arts and Culture Grants Programme

b) Regional Community Development Grants Programme

c) Regional Environment and Natural Heritage Grants Programme

d) Regional Events Grants Programme

e) Regional Historic Heritage Grants Programme

f) Regional Sport and Recreation Grants Programme

33. Each of the proposed regional grants programmes is conceived and will be promoted as a key mechanism to implement the relevant regional strategy, policy or plan (e.g. the Regional Arts and Culture grants programme will support the Arts and Culture Strategic Action Plan). These regional strategies enable – or will enable – the council to determine where it will target its resources in the medium to long term.

34. The draft CGP proposes that most of the regional grants programmes provide for two distinct grant types: single-year project grants, for standalone initiatives, and multi-year strategic relationship grants. Project grants of varying size will be awarded through a contestable process at least once per year, while the strategic relationship grants will enable the council to enter multi-year funding relationships with a small number of organisations operating at the regional level. The majority of organisations receiving strategic relationship grants will have an existing relationship with Auckland Council and be able to demonstrate a clear track record of achievement at this level.

35. To be considered eligible for regional grants, applicants must be able to show that their service, project or activity:

a) Primarily addresses regionally determined priorities, and it would therefore be unreasonable to expect local boards to meet the cost, and is:

b) Regional in terms of scale and/or significance, and/or is

c) Regional in terms of impact and/or reach.

36. The regional grants programmes are described in schedules to the Draft Community Grants Policy, as it is anticipated these schedules may be reviewed and updated over time as strategic priorities change.

Feedback from public consultation

37. Public consultation on the CGP was undertaken from 14 July – 17 August 2014 and included:

a) provision of accessible and easy-read versions of the policy summary document

b) distribution of information packs and fliers at all Auckland Council service centres, community centres, local board offices and libraries

c) provision of information via ‘Shape Auckland’ and a dedicated webpage on the Auckland Council website

d) advertisement in ‘Our Auckland’

e) advertisement through community and ethnic newspapers

f) promotion via Council’s social media channels (e.g. Facebook)

g) provision of a dedicated community assistance email account to allow people to make enquiries and submit feedback

h) distribution of online survey to the following audiences:

· those who provided feedback during previous consultations

· all community grant applicants since amalgamation

· community networks via Council’s advisory teams (CDAC, PSR, IE)

· other stakeholder networks as appropriate

i) provision of hard copy consultation material and submission forms by request

j) five public workshops (Rodney, north, central, west and south)

k) local board public workshops as requested (Orakei and Maungakiekie-Tamaki)

l) two Mataawaka hui (west and south)

m) presentations at southern and northern mana whenua hui and a regional environmental sector hui.

38. At the regional local board briefing on 30 June, some members expressed interest in seeing feedback from their communities prior to providing their own feedback on the policy. To enable this staff agreed to extend formal reporting to local boards so that a summary of public input could be provided. This is now attached for the local board’s consideration (Attachments B and C).

Financial implications of the CGP

39. The CGP will be a critical tool to implement Auckland’s vision as set out in the Auckland Plan, local board plans and core regional strategies, policies and plans, and it is important that there is sufficient funding to effectively resource the new programme for this purpose.

40. The legacy grants budgets inherited at amalgamation (or created subsequently) total c. $8.3 million p.a., or around $6 per head of population, with the majority supporting groups and activities that are either local or multi-board (via the legacy ‘city-wide’ funds). These funds are already oversubscribed – on average the value of requests is three times the available budget, and in some cases considerably more.

41. Of the total community grants budget, c. $2.4 million is currently targeting regional groups and activities. Current baseline funding for each of the regional grants programmes is as follows:

a) Regional Arts and Culture grants programme (c. $650,000)

b) Regional Community Development grants programme (No regional budget: all current grant schemes for this activity are administered by local boards, with some regional groups receiving interim allocations via the Annual Plan)

c) Regional Environment and Natural Heritage grants programme (up to $545,000)

d) Regional Events grants programme ($400,000)

e) Regional Historic Heritage grants programme (up to $345,000)

f) Regional Sport and Recreation grants programme (c. $500,000)

42. The existing grants programmes at this level are not able to meet current demand, and in some cases include funding tagged to specific recipients, or funding for regional outcomes that is being provided through local grants schemes. While contestability will be introduced for all funding schemes, there is little ‘headroom’ to support new applicants or address emerging priorities. For example, there is an expectation that a number of major events dropped from ATEED’s portfolio will now need to be funded through the Regional Events Fund from 2015/16, at an additional cost of $170,000 against the existing budget of $400,000.

43. Many regional organisations have been waiting for implementation of the new CGP to access regional funding, and in some cases their need has become so urgent that the governing body has allocated emergency funding through the annual plan as an interim measure.

44. Additional investment in the regional grants programme of $2 million p.a. is proposed as an option for governing body consideration through the LTP process 2015-2025. Staff consider a minimum of between $600,000 and $800,000 is required for each regional grants programme if the CGP is to support meaningful progress against the council’s stated priorities in these activity areas and deliver on the transformational shifts. The level of investment requested will support an average fund size of $750,000 (the exact distribution of budget between the six programmes would be proposed alongside the final policy).

Consideration

Local board views and implications

45. The design of the new grants programme proposed in the CGP has been strongly influenced by local board feedback received during consultation on the first draft Community Funding Policy in May 2012, and during more recent engagement.

46. A discussion paper on the new CGP was prepared in February 2014 and discussed in specially convened local board cluster workshops in March 2014, which were attended by representatives of all local boards. The paper outlined the basic elements of the proposed grants programme and sought feedback on specific policy issues. A summary of the feedback received during the cluster workshops and how this has been reflected in the draft CGP is provided (Attachment D).

47. A regional briefing for local board chairs and portfolio holders was held on 30 June to provide a further overview of the proposed policy and to discuss next steps. At the briefing, questions were raised about the policy’s recognition of local boards’ decision-making allocation in this area. Staff met with local board chairs on 28 July and agreed a process to address this concern (see ‘Local board grants programme schedule’ paras 16-20).

48. Staff attended workshops with local boards during July and August 2014 to discuss the draft policy and support the provision of formal local board feedback requested via this report.

Māori impact statement

49. Community grants have the potential to make a significant impact on Māori through supporting the outcomes in the Māori Plan. Under the proposed principles for the CGP, all grants programmes should respond to Auckland Council’s commitment to improving Māori wellbeing, as outlined in the Auckland Plan, local board plans and regional strategies, policies and plans, by providing grants to organisations delivering Māori outcomes locally and regionally.

50. There is already some dedicated funding for Māori outcomes at the regional level, currently focused on papakainga and marae development across Auckland. Te Waka Angamua will be working with mana whenua and mataawaka to explore how best to target this and/or other funding allocated for Māori outcomes in future, e.g. determining eligibility criteria and the most appropriate forums for priority-setting and decision-making.

51. During workshops in March/April 2014, staff discussed options with local boards for creating dedicated Māori funding schemes at the local level, or embedding Māori outcomes as a ‘standing priority’ across all proposed grants programmes at the local and regional level. Local boards expressed interest in dedicated Māori funding schemes at the local level if regional funding was made available to them for this purpose, but otherwise felt it was more appropriate for any targeted spending to be at each local board’s discretion, driven by local board plan priorities. The CGP’s intent to align grant-making to strategic priorities should ensure funding is allocated to groups and projects delivering Māori outcomes.

52. The current interim funding programme includes one grants scheme dedicated to Māori outcomes (the Marae Development Fund in the former Manukau City area), and this particular scheme, along with all others operating through the interim programme, will cease to operate once a new CGP is adopted. Regional marae development funding may provide some capacity to meet this need going forward, and Te Waka Angamua will release details of the application and decision-making process for that funding for the next financial year.

53. However local boards also have full discretion to provide grants for any purpose that benefits their local communities, and this is likely to include supporting marae especially where grants have been provided for this purpose in the past. The draft CGP provides flexibility for decision-makers to award grants to community groups that are not formally constituted charitable organisations, where appropriate, and staff understand this should increase access to funding for some Māori organisations, such as marae, who may not previously have been eligible.

Implementation

Budget alignment

54. Existing funding arrangements and grants schemes were rolled over for the 2014/2015 financial year. If adopted, implementation of the CGP will begin from 1 July 2015 to align with the new LTP 2015-2025 and implementation of the Local Board Funding Policy (LBFP). This will enable the finalised budget structures to be implemented alongside the policy.

55. Existing grants budgets categorised as ‘local’ will form part of the overall locally driven initiatives (LDI) budget allocated to local boards through the LBFP formula. Local boards will then set aside a budget to support their local grants programme from their LDI funding envelope through the Local Board Agreement process.

56. Staff will propose an overall budget structure for the new grants programme when the final policy is tabled with the committee in November 2014, outlining the treatment of any inherited (and new) community grants budgets and funding arrangements that will support the CGP going forward. This should enable staff to take into account the outcome of LTP deliberations in the second half of 2014 and present budget structure options accordingly.

Operationalisation of the CGP

57. The draft CGP has been developed with substantial input from the relevant operational departments to ensure that it is able to be delivered.

58. The proposed implementation timeframe should provide operational teams with adequate time to design supporting systems and business processes, and to produce public-facing collateral that outlines the structure and requirements of the new grants programmes in detail. This will include:

a) Working with all decision-makers to schedule an annual calendar of funding rounds for each level of the programme

b) Working with local boards to assist them in developing their local board grants programme schedules

c) Producing new promotional materials for the council website, marketing and promotion through media channels and to support public information sessions

d) Designing new online application forms and guidelines for prospective applicants

e) Ensuring support will be available for prospective applicants requiring assistance or capacity building to access the grants programmes, working with specialist colleagues where appropriate

f) Developing business processes and templates to enable consistent assessment and reporting to elected members, and to support their decision-making

g) Updating funding agreements, accountability forms and other legal documentation to ensure they are fit-for-purpose, and developing processes to deal with any grant recipients in breach of their agreements

h) Ensuring payments processes and associated financial controls are robust, efficient and fit-for-purpose.

59. If the CGP is adopted on schedule towards the end of 2014, grant applicants / recipients will also have more than six months to prepare for the changeover to the new policy and manage any implications. Staff will work with previously funded organisations to support them to access the new grants programmes during subsequent years, and provide advice to elected members if there is a need to consider transitional arrangements in individual cases.

Attachments

No.	Title	Page
a View	Draft Community Grants Policy	15
b View	Summary of feedback from public consultation	63
c View	Summary of public feedback from the Maungakiekie-Tamaki Local Board area	69
d View	Key feedback provided during political engagement	77