Rapid Assessment of Institutional Capacity in Local Government
What is it and Why use it?
The Rapid Assessment and Action Plan is a four phase do-it-yourself framework that council officers can use to:
- Assess whether the necessary elements of Institutional Capacity are present to drive the uptake of WSUD within your organisation;
- Prioritise capacity building initiatives to improve your organisation’s Institutional Capacity; and
- Develop a prioritised action plan (management strategies) to build this capacity.
The tool has been developed by Andre Taylor to help councils actively assess and plan how they can improve their organisation’s capacity to adopt and deliver Water Sensitive Urban Design.
How to access the tool
Go to the WSUD in Sydney website where you will find information on how to facilitate this process. These ready-to-use workshop resources can also be downloaded for free:
- A Guideline for Using the Rapid Assessment & Action Plan Process
- Introductory Slides for workshop facilitators
- Small Group Background Notes for workshop facilitators
- Project Background Briefing Notes
- Sample Agenda - Rapid Assessment Workshop 1
- A Rapid Assessment Process Work Sheet
- Sample Agenda - Rapid Assessment Follow-up Workshop
- Workshop Feedback Forms
Tool and workshop materials have been developed by Andrew Taylor. This project was facilitated by Col Freeman from the Lower Georges River Sustainability Initiative, with assistance from the Sydney Metropolitan Catchment Management Authority via the Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) Program. The Rapid Assessment tool has been piloted with Hurstville, Kogarah and Rockdale Councils and later used by Sutherland and Bankstown Councils.