Partnership agreement

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Austroads/local government partnership agreement

30 June 2003

Preamble

Austroads, the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) and the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australia (IPWEA) recognise the value and importance of developing a strong strategic partnership to enhance the management of Australia's roads.

Each organisation contributes in different ways to the management of the Australian road network:

Austroads: is the national association of Australian and New Zealand road transport and traffic authorities. It aims to provide strategic direction for the integrated development, management and operation of the Australian and New Zealand road system - through the promotion of national uniformity and harmony, elimination of unnecessary duplication of effort and the identification and application of world best practice.
ALGA: is a federation of local government associations in each Australian State, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory. It is the national advocate of Local Government, initiating policy development and co-ordination, and communicating and disseminating information to local government.
IPWEA: is a professional organisation providing member services and advocacy for those involved in and delivering public works and engineering services to the community.

The Austroads/Local Government Partnership Agreement recognises that local roads comprise around 85 percent of the Australian road network and are important for social and economic development within communities.

The Agreement seeks to improve communication between each organisation and help ensure that the management of local roads and the resolution of strategic local road issues are facilitated with the benefit of the knowledge, technology, best practice and research outputs from Austroads activities.

The Partnership Agreement is strengthened by the involvement and participation of each organisation within respective resource capabilities.

Objectives

The objectives for the Austroads/Local Government Partnership Agreement are to:

Improve communication between Austroads and local government.
Ensure that strategic issues related to local government roads and their use are identified and considered for inclusion in the Austroads' National Strategic Research Program.
Facilitate the participation of local government in Austroads' work.
Improve the dissemination of Austroads' outputs to local government and encourage their implementation.
Develop mechanisms for assessing how successful projects have been in addressing local government issues and for determining the degree of penetration of Austroads' work within local government.

Principles

The following shared principles will underpin the implementation of this partnership:

Austroads, ALGA and IPWEA have different roles, responsibilities and membership obligations but each is committed to the partnership and is optimistic about its success.
Austroads, ALGA and IPWEA support the development and dissemination of strategies, standards, guidelines, research outcomes and new technology that can contribute to improved road and transport related outcomes.
All roads are part of the total transport system but there are technical and functional differences between local, state and national roads.
Priority setting and decision making for research should be based on achieving agreed outcomes at local, regional and national levels and on criteria that are open to public scrutiny and debate.
Opportunities should be pursued to optimise the contribution of talent and potential from local government in the work of Austroads for the mutual benefit of all Austroads members.
Existing structures and networks should be recognised and utilised where appropriate to minimise duplication of effort

Roles and responsibilities

To give effect to the above principles and objectives, the roles and responsibilities of the partners to this agreement are as follows:

Austroads will:

Contribute to the achievement of improved national transport related outcomes consistent with its purpose and values
Recognise the importance of local roads to social and economic development
Integrate local road management and use issues in the development of its annual national strategic research program
Facilitate the participation of local government to Austroads' work
Invite local government representation on relevant national reference groups and agreed research project teams

ALGA will:

Promote Austroads and its work to its members and councils
Nominate local government representatives to participate on relevant national reference groups and agreed research project teams
Encourage members to participate in Austroads' work and be proactive in identifying roads issues and implementing Austroads' Program and project outcomes to achieve mutual outcomes for the benefit of the community
Convene an ALGA Roads and Transport Advisory Committee and report priority research needs for local government to Austroads

IPWEA will:

Promote Austroads and its work to members
Assist in the identification of suitable technical expertise from local government
Participate as a member of the ALGA/IPWEA/Austroads Steering Committee which oversights the agreement

Implementation actions are outlined in the associated action plan.

Monitoring and review

The on-going success of the Austroads-Local Government Partnership Agreement, including progress with implementation actions, will be monitored by a Steering Committee. The Steering Committee shall comprise the:

ALGA Chief Executive Officer
IPWEA Chief Executive Officer
Austroads Executive Director

The Steering Committee meet at least twice a year to monitor progress with initial implementation actions. The Committee will undertake an annual review and evaluate the partnership plan against the objectives. The outcome of the annual review will be reported formally and communicated to members of each of the parties.

Commencement and duration

This agreement will come into effect when it is signed by the Chairman of Austroads, President of ALGA and the National President of IPWEA and will conclude on 30 June 2006.

Signatories

Robin Dunlop
Chairman, Austroads

Mike Montgomery
President, ALGA

Ross Moody
National President, IPWEA

30 June 2003