On 20 June 2016, the Australian Government announced a re-focus of the National Stronger Regions Fund (NSRF), to be known as the Building Better Regions Fund. The refocus is that the fund will be eligible only to regional, rural and remote Australia, delivers investment in two streams: infrastructure projects and community investments, and will focus on creating jobs, driving economic growth and building communities.
What will be the real difference between the National Stronger Regions Fund and the Building Better Regions Fund? The new guidelines are not out yet, but we already have an insight into the changes. While the majority of the fund will go to infrastructure projects for local government, the fund will provide an opportunity for small community groups and volunteer organisations to access funding where they can’t contribute matching money themselves. The community stream of BBRF will help build local leadership and community projects which have previously been ineligible. The change in focus will change the assessment process with projects to be assessed differently: small projects against small projects, medium-sized projects against medium-sized, and major infrastructure projects against major infrastructure projects. One size will no longer fit all with the application. The expectation for major infrastructure projects will be a comprehensive, well developed and well documented project.
Section51 is launching a workshop and training series for councils, non-government organisations (NGOs) and not for profit (NFP) groups to explain the shift, and build the bridge between the old National Stronger Regions Fund and the new Building Better Regions Fund. Why? Because while the guidelines will remain critical, it is how Canberra is going to operate with a one seat majority that will be even more critical. The change of name is a lot more than a change in the grant, it is a change in the way the government is going to work. The different definition of regional, the sense of urgency in delivery, and the shift in policy are all in play in 2016. There is real value to understanding each of these changes and how the 2016 Canberra public service is going to implement them as assessors when you tell your project story for the new BBRF. The story is about Canberra and the new regional, not one or the other, but both in a mix. If you really want to be noticed, and improve your reputation as a council that knows how to access the funds, then telling the 2016 story when the new Building Better Regions Fund opens will be everything. It is not far away so we suggest that you start preparing now.
•Copy supplied by Section 51
