Media Release

Release date: Thursday 22 October 2015

www.gdc.govt.nz

International award for Council

Council and Pivotal’s Sheryl Smail have been awarded Gold by the International Association of Facilitators (IAF) for the Wainui Beach Erosion Management Strategy (WBMS).

The IAF Facilitation Impact Awards are the most prestigious awards in the world for demonstrations of facilitation excellence. This year 42 nominations were made from businesses, governments, and not-for-profit organisations around the world.

Gisborne District Council was the only New Zealand organisation and one of two Australasian organisations to win an FIA. Council has been awarded 1 of 9 Gold awards worldwide, alongside 1 Platinum and 10 Silver awards.

Kimberly Bain, Global Chair of the IAF says Gisborne District Council and Ms Smail have shown excellence in facilitation that has resulted in something impactful – something that truly has made a difference.

“The Facilitation Impact Awards celebrate the power of collaboration,” says Ms Bain.

“What’s also exciting were the different types of organisations and projects all demonstrating impressive results. I truly believe that facilitation excellence, as framed by the IAF’s Core Competencies, can be a powerful source of change in the organisations and communities we work with.”

When setting out to develop the strategy for Wainui Beach,environmental and regulatory group manager Kevin Strongman explains Council had anticipated diverse and strongly held views in the community.

“There were no easy answers and the regulatory and natural environments were complex. We wanted to find the best way forward and had a genuine commitment to develop a sustainable strategy that had broad acceptance among the community.”

Ms Smail was seconded as an independent facilitator to assist in engaging with the Wainui community and achieving consensus on the way forward.

“By including the community in our planning process, it strengthened the engagement skills of staff and assisted in building trust with a community that had previously been left out of the loop. Most importantly the engagement process resulted in a Strategy that has strong community ownership and will manage beach erosion risks in an integrated and holistic way.”

“The WBMS’s inclusive planning process models Council’s new way of doing business. Leading Collaboratively is now one of Council’s 6 Leadership functions.”

The Award will be formally presented at the December 17 Council meeting by IAF’s Oceania director, Nick Housego.

Mr Strongman says the award is recognition of the efforts of all those that were part of the process and would like to thank Ms Smail and members of the Key Stakeholder Forum, Working Group and Project Team for their dedication and input into the project.

ENDS

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