Background
In early 2023, NineSquared was contacted by the A/CEO of the Northern Rivers Reconstruction Authority to provide expert and on-call governance support and advice for the Resilient Homes Program (RHP and Resilient Land Program (RHP). Together these programs comprise $800 million in funding provided under the NSW Resilient Homes Fund.
This governance support and advice role was then transitioned to the NSW Reconstruction Authority in mid-2023 when the NRRC was merged with the Authority and became the Northern Rivers Adaptation Division.
For this commission, a key instruction from our client was to assist with transitioning the rapid start-up governance arrangements to reflect a Business-as-Usual (BAU) approach.
Our role
We undertook a review of the program governance frameworks for both the RHP and RLP and provided recommendations for improvements. This included the development of a program specific RACI Matrix for each program, to improve vision on lines of accountability, decision making and responsibility.
For both programs (with a focus on the RHP), we conducted a baseline assessment of the following key governance documents and then identified/authored changes to both improve the currency of these documents and also update for a BAU-focus:
- Program Guidelines
- Governance Frameworks
- Assessment & Prioritisation Plans
- Probity Plans.
We also provided on-call/ad-hoc advice on draft policy documents as they were developed by our client. This on-call policy and governance advice was provided in a fast-paced operational environment.
Our other tasks include assisting with the development of a benefits register and benefits management plan, review of risk management arrangements, and the development of an internal assurance framework for the RLP.
Results and relevance
Our governance support and advice role provided our client with the following benefits:
- Improved program governance and decision-making frameworks
- Updated program governance documents
- On-call support and advice for a small client governance team working in a fast-paced and changing operational environment.
These benefits were reflected in the following feedback from our client’s representative,
“…Since their engagement commenced, we have had an extremely positive experience working with NineSquared. The team took the time to gain a solid understanding of our requirements and clearly articulated the approach they would take to meet our needs. The team was pragmatic, responsive, and professional at all times. Of particular note, we learnt from working with NineSquared and they introduced several solutions to us that helped strengthen our governance framework and controls…”.
