How to Build a Resilient Regional Investment Plan

Regional investment is the cornerstone of thriving communities, but achieving long-term resilience requires more than funding—it demands strategic foresight. For regional organisations grappling with complex challenges, a resilient regional investment plan aligns immediate needs with future opportunities.

Here are the key steps to creating an investment plan that maximises social, environmental, and economic outcomes while preparing for uncertainties.

The Challenge: Regional Vulnerabilities

• Disasters like droughts, floods, and fires disproportionately affect regional areas, disrupting infrastructure and livelihoods​.

• Limited budgets and stretched resources often force councils to prioritise short-term fixes over strategic investments​.

• Weak frameworks can lead to inefficient decision-making and misaligned priorities​​.

The Approach: Steps to Resilient Planning

1. Define Investment Priorities
   1. Use frameworks like the Investment Logic Map (ILM) to assess the root causes of challenges and their impacts​.
   2. Focus on projects that provide the highest public value, balancing immediate returns with long-term resilience.
   3. Prioritise projects with the highest return on social, economic, and environmental outcomes​​.
   4. Align investments with community goals and regional strategic visions.
2. Building Robust Governance and Risk Frameworks
   1. Establishing clear governance structures to guide decision-making​.
   2. Creating risk management frameworks that adapt to uncertainty and prevent project delays.
   3. Ensuring transparency and accountability to maintain public trust​.
3. Integrate Climate Resilience
   1. Develop strategies to mitigate risks such as water shortages or extreme weather​.
   2. Leverage decentralised energy solutions like neighbourhood batteries to enhance sustainability​.
4. Engage Communities
   1. Conducting extensive stakeholder engagement to align priorities​.
   2. Leveraging local knowledge to design culturally and socially relevant solutions​.
   3. Fostering a sense of ownership and pride in projects, which enhances long-term sustainability.
5. Track and Measure Impact
   1. Develop KPIs that align with broader goals, such as reduced emissions or increased access to services​​.
   2. Use dashboards to visualise progress and adjust strategies as needed.