Improved communication helps Bay of Plenty sports clubs - What has been achieved from the Council's
What has been achieved from the Council's perspective
Tauranga City Council’s Recreation Relationship Team Manager Kiri Pope says the relationship between TCC and Sport BOP has vastly improved in the last three years. Local clubs have benefited as a result.
“Our two organisations now meet weekly and the relationship has gone from strength to strength,” she says.
“We are able to communicate to Sport BOP what we require to progress and they then go back to clubs to explain things like processes and funding,” she says. “We are a team now. On occasions in the past there was conflict with Sport BOP advocating against the Council – now that has gone. We don’t always agree but we understand and appreciate our respective roles and work for the betterment of sport and recreation.”
Kiri believes one of big advantages of the partnership is clubs are often much more comfortable working with Sport BOP than working directly with the Council. Sport BOP also has a wider sector of contacts to tap into, as well as knowledge and expertise more directly related to sport development.
“It is much more appropriate for clubs to have independent advice on things like feasibility studies when they are seeking funding from the Council,” she says.
Kiri has noticed proposals are much more detailed and demonstrate an understanding that the Council needs to see identified demand to be sure that Council resources are going to projects which will benefit the wider community and support its multi-use policy. Sport BOP has brokered partnerships between organisations with similar visions leading to multi-use opportunities.
TCC has monitored improved communication and understanding with clubs and associations through its six-monthly Outdoor Facility Forum. “When I first started in 2005 the evenings were confrontational,” says Kiri. “Previously full of grilling and anti-council attacking, they have now evolved to point where they are even fun. There is the odd curly question but relationships are good.”
Kiri says both elected members and staff are very happy with reports of Sport BOP’s work, one councillor recently describing it as “amazing.”
Updated | 10 Sep 2008.
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