Rally for Riverland
The Riverland is well loved by its community and has many strengths. There are however a number of challenges that the three individual Councils do not have the resources or remit to solve. Many of these challenges rely on State and Federal Governments collaborating to provide solutions through infrastructure, programs and services. One of the most important functions that Councils perform is to advocate for the infrastructure, services and changes required for our communities to thrive.
The Rally for Riverland project vision was to build a meaningful data set over time and to use this information to create a better future for the Riverland community.
The project objectives are;
- To develop a clear and complete picture of the health, wellbeing and the social landscape within the Riverland region benchmarked to other regions and the state.
- To develop a framework for advocacy and influence to facilitate targeted support and investment in social programs within the region.
- To equip the three participating Councils and key stakeholders that deliver, or have input to the social space, with the ability to undertake evidence-based decision making and better support service/program planning and delivery with robust, timely and holistic data.
- To facilitate an environment of collaboration amongst stakeholders based on a shared purpose and vision.
The Rally for Riverland Regional Profile and Wellbeing Indicators Report provides the full evidence base that was collected through the project. This was then used to develop the Rally for Riverland Advocacy Guide 2021-2026 (and Executive Summary) in order to provide a simplified view of what the big-picture challenges are for our region, as identified by evidence.
The desired outcomes are deliberately few in number, short and very high level. The Advocacy Guide charts the strategic alignment between the three Riverland Councils in regard to each topic and also considers alignment with other regional, state and federal bodies. It also identifies the main decision makers for each topic and determines the key messages.
The key to the success of the revised Rally for Riverland is that it is striving for a small number of high level outcomes that all three Riverland Councils support (the three Riverland Councils have all passed resolutions in support of the Advocacy Guide 2021-2026 (and Executive Summary)). Most of these high level outcomes are likely to take a number of years to gain traction, but are achievable through consistent, collaborative and cohesive advocacy.
Each of the Councils can still advocate for their own individual needs, but Rally for Riverland enables us to also advocate as a united and strong region, with one voice.