The Far North District Events Strategy - Far North District Council
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
The Far North District Events Strategy
Revised: April 2016
Introduction
The Far North District Council has developed an Events Strategy 2015-2018 to
contribute to:
• the achievement of the interim District Vision - “The place where people love
to be”.
• the Council’s own vision for itself - that “Council will be a capable, trusted, and
innovative civic leader, serving and inspiring people, maximising opportunities
to empower communities and meet their changing needs; while creating great
places.”
• the community outcomes adopted as part of the Long Term Plan 2015-2025
and in particular prudent financial management within long term strategic
planning.
During the course of the 2015-16 Council plans to review this revised strategy by
following a strategic planning process that incorporates the new district vision,
Council’s strategy for economic and community development, and consultation with
major stakeholders (iwi, businesses, event organisers, arts, culture and sports
organisations, visitor industry, local media, community boards and the wider
community) to gain a wide variety of views to validate and/or modify the strategy for
the future.
We have however not delayed adopting this Events Strategy until the district vision
has been adopted and consultation on this Strategy has occurred because the district
needs events and festivals to occur, Council has provided funding for this to occur
from 1 July 2015, and applications for investment are already occurring. It is
imperative that any funding decisions are taken within a strategic context and not
taken in an ad hoc and opaque manner, even in the short term. This strategy
therefore focuses on the role of Council in events and in particular its role as an
investor.
Conferences are excluded from this Strategy.
Purpose of this strategy
The revised Events Strategy has been developed to enable:
1. An overall vision for events which strongly supports Far North District
marketing, economic development and tourism campaigns and maximises
the positive profile of the Far North for residents and domestic and
international visitor markets.
2. A planned programme of events that allows residents, businesses, the wider
community and visitors to participate and benefit throughout the year.
Document number A1592643 Page 1 of 163. Events that are resourced wholly or in part resources by the Far North District
Council to be fairly and objectively assessed and monitored using transparent
funding criteria and using a triple bottom line approach.
Our vision for events
Far North District holds outstanding events and festivals. Our events are fun. They
connect, contribute to and celebrate our communities, create pride and showcase our
district.
Principles underpinning the strategy
• Events and festivals help us celebrate our culture and the place in which we
live in.
• Events contribute to building stronger communities.
• Events showcase the best a community has to offer in terms of sports, arts,
culture, natural environment and facilities.
• Events enhance the quality of facilities, promote the district and deliver
economic benefit.
• Event timing is important for the local economy.
• Events play a role in attracting creative and talented people and businesses.
• Events can be categorised in different ways - e.g. national, regional, district,
local, community and corporate.
• Local and community events are primarily for the local community and event
ownership and creative direction belongs with that local community. Council
works with communities to empower them and support action on local
aspirations and needs.
• Council investment in events is based on open and transparent evaluation
and decision-making processes and accountability for decisions made.
• Council aims to work collaboratively and in partnership with Maori, the events
sector and the community when implementing this strategy.
• Sustainable events implement environmentally responsible practices,
minimise negative impacts on neighbourhoods and natural areas, optimise
use of resources and are financially sustainable.
Role of Council
Council currently contributes to events in the District in a number of ways. The
following are provided by way of illustration:
Information Provider
• Events calendar - http://www.fndc.govt.nz/communication/events-calendar
• Advice and support to event organisers on Council landowner and regulatory
requirements, potential funding sources, and potential partners.
Document number A1592643 Page 2 of 16Provider of Events Facilities and Services
• Provider of a range of community centres, halls, parks, reserves and
playgrounds that are available for public use.
• Provider of litter services, signage, shade tents and other equipment.
• Traffic Management Plans for events using public roads.
• Landowner consents for use of council land.
Events Promotion
• Social and traditional media, Mayoral columns, press releases, panui and
newsletters, at district service centres, i-sites and libraries.
• Events calendar - http://www.fndc.govt.nz/communication/events-calendar
Investor / Funder
• Direct investment in events
• Community grant funding for events
• Rural travel
• Creative Communities
• Indirect funding e.g. thought Council funding of Volunteering Northland
Regulatory
• Building consents
• Resource consents
• Liquor licensing
• Mobile Shop licence
• Hawker licence
• Food permit
• Road closure
• Permit to use Council Reserve or other Public Place
Our objectives for events
• To ensure a diverse, accessible and balanced portfolio of events across the
district.
• To increase the well-being, both individually and collectively, of the Far
North’s communities.
• To make it easier to run events in the district.
• To use existing infrastructure effectively and efficiently.
• To achieve value for money from our investment in events.
Document number A1592643 Page 3 of 16Our goals and indicators of success
Goals Measured By
• Visitor expenditure
1. Economic contribution of district
• Value of media coverage
events and festivals to the Far
• Far North marketing campaigns
North is optimised.
• Number of participants/audience
2. Diverse, fun and exciting local
events and festivals appeal to
• Number and range of events
residents, connect people and
• Resident satisfaction
places, and create pride and
celebrate a culturally rich • Participant/attendees satisfaction
district.
3. Events and festivals that are of
high quality are supported in a • Resident satisfaction
fair and transparent manner by • Event organiser satisfaction
the Council and encouraged to • Events funding measure
grow.
4. Number of land based events
that occur outside the Bay of • Number and range of events
Islands increases.
5. Events and festivals achieve • Completed waste minimisation
environmental sustainability. plans
Council as a funder
Events are evaluated on their individual merits and how they combine with other
events to contribute to Council’s objective of a balanced event portfolio.
It is anticipated that potential District events will come from a number of external
sources, e.g. public, private, community sectors etc. Therefore, Council will take a
transparent investment approach to events that meet the goals of the strategy.
Investment may be either through financial or non-financial means or a mixture of
both. Council will base its investment decision on the business case, outcomes and
KPI presented by the event organiser(s).
As ratepayer money for investment is limited and is unlikely to increase significantly
in the future, Council will invest in events that in its opinion, from the evidence
presented, will give the best Return on District Investment. (As opposed to spreading
its limited funding over a large number of events, which would mean a lot of events
get a relatively minor amount of Council investment.)
Return on District Investment (RODI)
RODI will be the evaluation tool that Council uses to determine initial investment and
continuing investment in District events. This is in alignment with good event
investment practice.
The RODI is an economic tool to enable Council to ascertain indicative economic
value to the Council investment received. For example for every $ invested in Y
event, X $ of economic benefit was received.
Document number A1592643 Page 4 of 16Council will look at ways of incorporating social, cultural and environmental value
metrics into the RODI to enhance the utility of the RODI for District events and to
assist Community Boards in assessing local events for funding.
Applications
An application process applies to all district events requesting Council investment.
Applications will be invited to apply each year. Applications for up to three years of
funding will be considered.
In order to be transparent Council will call for event business cases to be submitted
in May to June of each year. Council will assess the business cases in July of each
year. Recommendations will be made to the Events Panel (described below). The
Events Panel will sit in August each year to determine Council’s event investments.
Applicants will be assessed against the criteria (c.f. General Criteria) and weightings
will be applied. The application form will guide applicants through the process and
will be developed once the strategy is adopted.
The initial assessment of the applications will be made by Strategic Planning and
Policy staff. The assessment will then be referred to a panel made up of the:
• Chair of the Economic Development Committee
• Chair of the Community Services and Development Committee
• Chair of the Strategy and Governance Committee
• Chief Executive Officer or their alternate the GM Strategic Planning and
Policy
• Other persons as decided by Council resolution
for endorsement and with delegated authority, from Council, to approve investment
in events (except where time does not permit - when the assessment will be
presented direct to Council.)
All successful applicants must acknowledge the support of the Far North District
Council on any correspondence, advertising or other publicity material and co-brand
events.
General Criteria
Event Identity
• The festival or event celebrates the Far North in an exciting and vibrant way.
Consideration will be given to its uniqueness to the Far North.
Event Variety
• The festival or event will add variety to the annual events calendar.
Event Timing
• The festival or event will assist with attaining a suitable spread of events
activity throughout the year.
Cultural and Social Well-being
• The festival or event assists in developing a culturally rich, connected district,
enhancing sense of community.
Document number A1592643 Page 5 of 16Support
• The festival or event will be able to demonstrate a high level of community, co
funder, partnership support and involvement.
Event Quality
• The festival or event provides a professional, modern and relevant
programme, which meets the standards of current-day audiences and
participants.
• For an existing event Council will consider how effectively the event has been
run in the past:
o delivering a quality experience to the participants, volunteers and
funders
o meeting its stated objectives
o compliance with consents, permits and licenses
o financial performance.
• For a new event how well planned the event is relative to the scale and risks
associated with the event.
Event Growth
• The festival or event has shown growth and/or has clear potential for growth,
with a strategic vision/plan for how to manage growth.
Economic Benefit
• The festival or event will attract visitors and generate increased visitor nights
and direct expenditure resulting in positive economic benefit for the district.
Media Coverage
• The festival or event will generate positive external media exposure that
promotes and enhances the Far North ‘brand’.
Environmental Sustainability
• The festival or event has a plan for achieving waste minimisation and the use
of recycling.
Outlying Communities
• The festival or event is set outside of the Bay of Islands.
Document number A1592643 Page 6 of 16Key actions for the Events Strategy (short term)
Goal Action Who When
• Review and incorporate social,
By 30 July 2015
cultural and environmental value
metrics into the RODI to enhance
the utility of the RODI for District
1. Economic contribution of events
district events and festivals to • Undertake RODI monitoring and Strategic Policy and
the Far North is optimised. Projects Ongoing
post event evaluation
• Funding application process
By 30 July 2015
finalised
• Applications called for at least By 30 August 2015
annually
• Review Council fees and charges to Strategic Policy and
encourage community events Projects to co-ordinate By November 2015
2. Diverse, fun and exciting local • Consult community on revised fees
and charges February/March 2016
events and festivals appeal to
residents, connect people and • Undertake a review of current
places, and create pride and events and identify the categories, By November 2015
celebrate a culturally rich gaps and overlaps
district.
• Provide coordinated assistance and IAMS if council facility or
liaison to new and existing events reserve used; otherwise Ongoing
ranging from regulatory consents to initially provided by
event planning. District Services
Document number A1592643 Page 7 of 16Goal Action Who When
• Review the RODI to incorporate
social, cultural and environmental Strategic Policy and
value metrics Projects By 30 July 2015
3. Events and festivals that are • Undertake RODI monitoring and
of high quality are supported post event evaluation
in a fair and transparent Ongoing
• Call for
manner by the Council and
encouraged to grow. • Seek event-friendly amendments to
Reserve Management Plans,
Northland Regional Policy Strategic Planning and
Policy to input as reviews Ongoing
Statement and other key local and
regional Plans, policies and occur
charging schedules.
• Undertake a review of current
events and identify the categories,
gaps and overlaps
November 2015
4. Number of land based events • Facilitate increasing the number
that occur outside the Bay of and geographical spread of events, Strategic Planning and
Islands increases. and growing current events, at Policy
‘quiet’ times during the year through
encouraging events to occur in the Ongoing
‘off-season’ by working with Maori,
events organisers, and
communities.
Document number A1592643 Page 8 of 16Goal Action Who When
• Review the RODI to incorporate Strategic Policy and By 30 July 2015
social, cultural and environmental Projects
value metrics.
5. Events and festivals achieve
• Additional environment indicators
environmental sustainability. Strategic Policy and
for the strategy review identified for By 30 August 2015
Projects
consultation
• Waste minimisation plan guidelines
for events reviewed. TBC By 30 August 2015
Document number A1592643 Page 9 of 16Definitions
In this strategy:
• An event is defined as a celebration, activity, exhibition, or staged performance
that is open to the general public for a limited time.
• An event may be free, or have an entry fee. An event may be run on a
commercial basis.
• A festival is defined as a collection of events that celebrate a single or general
theme and are promoted as one within this theme, and occur within a defined
timeframe.
• Participants/attendees/audience refers to all people taking part in an event,
whether in active or passive roles.
• Community events - are local events which focus on fun, community pride and
connection (people and places) - and may be invested in by Community Boards.
Often the positive social outcomes will outweigh the economic benefit to the
community.
• District events - are emerging, anchor/cornerstone or one off events of sufficient
size and scale to be of district significance - and may be invested in from the
district wide, Council events budget.
• Events and festivals are divided into five categories:
o Anchor or Cornerstone Events - An event or festival that attracts a
substantial audience and participation and contributes to the positive
district, regional and sometimes national profile of the district. An Anchor
event or festival will attract an audience and/or participation of at least
500 people including a reasonable number of visitors, mostly from
Whangarei and Auckland. Anchor events mostly occur on an annual or
biennial basis and are classified as district events.
o Festivals - A festival that is staged for both local and visitors as a
celebration or for an occasion or for some reason that is significant to the
wider community. Audience participation will vary and admission will
usually be free, although where a festival is also a fund raiser, this may
not be so. These festivals generate civic pride, add to the district’s
vibrancy, make residents feel included and make visitors inclined to stay
longer in a culturally rich atmosphere. They are generally classified
community events.
o Sporting - An event that promotes fitness and wellness, has some
degree of competition and encourages local participation as well as
bringing entrants and supporters from outside the district.
o Arts - An event that promotes artistic endeavour. Artistic events can be
quite diverse and include such things music, theatre, dance and concerts.
o Cultural/Heritage - An event that celebrates or marks New Zealand’s
cultural and heritage past and brings it to life for current and future
generations.
Please note that throughout the strategy the term ‘event’ is often employed in a
general sense to include both festivals and individual events.
Document number A1592643 Page 10 of 16APPENDIX 1 - Promoting Your Event
If you are planning a community event or activity, here is some information to
assist you about how and where to promote your event to the public.
1. Write a media release
Some basic rules for writing a media release:
• Your first sentence should tell your story - in less than 30 words!
• Include the what, when, where, who and why of the event and any highlights,
sponsors and quotes.
• Structure your release with the most important information first and the least
important last - news reporters want to cover the decision, not the lead up to
it.
• Give the media release an informative title and keep the main part of the
information short.
• Leave out jargon and technical terms.
• Date the media release.
• Check the spelling and grammar.
• Be objective about the release - does it sound ‘ho hum’ or is it really
interesting? Get at least one other person to review it.
• Meet deadlines given to you.
• Always put a contact name and number at the end of the release and ensure
that this person is aware of the content of the media release and is available
to speak to media. If you quote people in the text it is helpful to include their
contact details.
• Advise what photo opportunities, footage etc are available leading up to the
event.
• Send the release to the editors/newsrooms.
• Ensure that you follow up in person or by phone after sending the media
release or before holding a media conference.
• Find out what on-line news services are available.
2. Send to the main media outlets
Northern News
• Weekly, compact-format community newspaper published on Wednesday
• Distributed free to 13,932 households in Kaitaia, Kaikohe, Okaihau,
Ohaeawai, Moerewa and North & South Hokianga. Rural areas include
Kaitaia RD1, 2 & 3 (part), Kaikohe RD1, 2 & 3, Awanui RD1 & 2, Broadwood
RD1, Okaihau RD1 & 2 and Russell rural delivery.
• Editor is Jenny Ling whose email address is jenny.ling@fairfaxmedia.co.nz
and phone number is 09 407 0362
• Suggested approach for news coverage. Email a draft story/article about
your event to the editor at least a month before the event. Space in the
Document number A1592643 Page 11 of 16paper is limited and newspapers receive a lot of supplied material from
community groups, so be concise and highlight newsworthy angles to make
your story stand out. Try to provide a photo that illustrates your event as
well. Don’t be afraid to be creative or use humour. This will increase your
chances of the newspaper publishing a story about your event and give the
story prominence in the paper. Follow up your email with a phone call if you
don’t hear back from the editor. It is true that the squeaky wheel gets the oil.
Also, ask the editor if the newspaper will consider covering the event. Bear in
mind that reporters are busy people and not always available to work at
weekends, so offer to send photos and information for publication.
• Advertising: To place a display advert (an advert that is not in the classified
pages), contact Northland Regional Manager Lynne Popham at
Lynne.Popham@fairfaxmedia.co.nz on 407 0361
Bay Chronicle
• Weekly, compact-format community newspaper published on Thursday
• Distributed free to 12,120 households in Doubtless Bay, Mangonui, Kerikeri,
Waipapa, Paihia and Russell. Includes all post boxes. Rural areas include
Kaeo RD1 & 2, Kaitaia RD3 (part), Kerikeri RD1, 2 & 3 and Mangonui RD1.
• Editor is Jenny Ling whose email address is jenny.ling@fairfaxmedia.co.nz
and phone number is 09 407 0362
• Suggested approach for news coverage. As above.
• Advertising: To place a display advert (an advert that is not in the classified
pages), contact Northland Regional Manager Lynne Popham at
Lynne.Popham@fairfaxmedia.co.nz on 407 0361
Northern Advocate
• Regional, daily (except Sundays), compact-format newspaper (Saturday’s
edition is published in broadsheet format) sold from Wellsford to Kaitaia
• Readership 24,000. Circulation 11,716. Go to
http://www.apn.co.nz/newspapers/thenorthernadvocate/about/ for
demographic information about Northern Advocate readers.
• Editor is Craig Cooper but you should direct enquiries about news coverage
of your event to Far North reporter Peter de Graaf at
Peter.deGraaf@northernadvocate.co.nz or 09 407 3287. Phone 09 373
6400 to enquire about buying advertising in the paper.
• Suggested approach for news coverage: As above. Editorial space is less of
an issue in The Northern Advocate because it is published six days a week.
However, the paper is driven by stronger commercial imperatives than
community newspapers. Editorial staff are therefore more discriminating
about which stories and photos they publish, so sharpen your sales pitch
before you contact the paper. The paper tends to publish more stories written
by reporters - as opposed to stories supplied by community groups - so ask
yourself how you can make this story interesting for this reporter to cover.
Reporters like to get exclusive stories/photos, so think about how you can
Document number A1592643 Page 12 of 16offer each reporter or newspaper something different. Also ask about
deadlines and technical requirements for photos. A lot of community groups
miss out on getting news coverage, because they don’t send photos taken at
weekend events in time for Monday’s edition or they supply low-resolution
photos that aren’t suitable for publication.
Northland Age
• A twice weekly, broadsheet-format newspaper published on Tuesdays and
Thursdays and sold across the Far North District (i.e. from Towai to Cape
Reinga)
• Editor is Peter Jackson and any enquiries about news coverage of your event
should be directed to him at Peter.Jackson@northlandage.co.nz
• Suggested approach for news coverage: As above. However, The Northland
Age is a big newspaper and it relies on supplied material from the community
to fill its news pages, so you may have a better chance of the paper
publishing a story about your event than the compact format papers.
• Phone 09 408 0330 to enquire about advertising with the paper.
Radio
The Far North is served by a large number of commercial and community radio
stations. These may be willing to publicise your event but they will vary in the level of
support they are able to provide. Generally speaking, community radio stations are
able to devote more airtime to community news than commercial stations. Some
may even be interested in interviewing you about your event on air, so they are well
worth making the time to approach along the lines described above.
Bay of Islands area:
More FM rjones@mediaworks.co.nz
Doubtless Bay area:
Doubtless Bay Family Radio dbfr100@xtra.co.nz
Kaitaia area:
Sunshine FM sunshinefmstudio@tehiku.co.nz
Radio Te Hiku tehiku@tehiku.co.nz
Mangamuka area:
Radio Tautoko tautokofm@clear.net.nz
Kawakawa/Whangarei area:
news@ngatihinefm.co.nz
Document number A1592643 Page 13 of 16Social Media Many groups use Social Media and Facebook in particular to promote events. This is a cheap but effective way of getting the message out to a large number of people and it allows you to ramp up interest and awareness of your event over a longer period than in the print news media where editorial staff usually only want to run one story before your event. It is also worth becoming a member of community noticeboard pages on Facebook, such as Northland Grapevine which has more 7,000 members. Just bear in mind that these pages have a vast turnover of content so you may need to post updates about your event on a daily basis to ensure they are seen by a wide audience. Document number A1592643 Page 14 of 16
Background information Location of Ratepayers Most of the Far North’s properties are owned by a ratepayer who resides in the District. The largest group of non-resident ratepayers are located in Auckland and 10% of the properties related to an Auckland owner are Housing New Zealand properties. As might be expected, Whangarei is home to the next largest group of ratepayers who are not residing in the District. Also, not surprisingly - Australia is home to the most ‘overseas’ ratepayers, although these relate to just 2% of all properties in the District. It is likely that many of these are in fact New Zealanders working in Australia. In terms of the overseas ratepayers, which collectively make up less than 3% of all ratepayers, Australia, the USA and the UK are the biggest groups. (Note the figure within the graphs do not add up to 100% due to rounding adjustments associated with both graphs. Never-the-less - less than 3% of Far North ratepayers have addresses overseas, and less than 28% are outside of the District.) Document number A1592643 Page 15 of 16
Dwelling structure
Far North 2013 2006
District Change
Thames - Thames -
Dwelling 2006 to
Number % Coromandel Number % Coromandel
structure 2013
District % District %
Separate
17,274 79.3 82.8 16,446 80.3 83.2 +828
house
Medium
1,029 4.7 6.5 1,053 5.1 6.4 -24
density
High
384 1.8 3.3 405 2.0 2.9 -21
density
Other
423 1.9 2.0 444 2.2 2.5 -21
dwelling
Not stated /
2,664 12.2 5.4 2,130 10.4 5.0 +534
included
Total
occupied
21,774 100.0 100.0 20,478 100.0 100.0 +1,296
private
dwellings
Source: Statistics New Zealand, Census of Population and Dwellings 2006 and 2013.
Dwelling type
Far North 2013 2006
District Change
Thames - Thames -
Dwelling 2006 to
Number % Coromandel Number % Coromandel
type 2013
District % District %
Occupied
private 21,777 78.2 49.4 20,472 79.5 50.1 +1,305
dwellings
Unoccupied
private 5,811 20.9 49.8 5,049 19.6 49.1 +762
dwellings
Non private
273 1.0 0.8 237 0.9 0.7 +36
dwellings
Total
27,861 100.0 100.0 25,758 100.0 100.0 +2,103
dwellings
Source: Statistics New Zealand, Census of Population and Dwellings 2006 and 2013.
• The number of dwellings in the District has increased since 2006. However, so has the number of
unoccupied dwellings, as well as households comprising an individual living alone.
• Unoccupied dwellings increased by 20% on 2006. Much of this increase has been around
Doubtless Bay and Karikari Peninsular.
Document A1592643 Page 16 of 16You can also read
