Uncovering Actionable Lessons & Recommendations for the Future of LLS Drought Services​

Challenge

The 2017-2020 drought was the worst on record for most river valleys across NSW. The NSW government responded in various ways to manage limited water supplies, support rural communities and minimise ecological impacts. With the return to warmer and dryer weather this year (mainly due to the El Niño phenomenon), Local Land Services (LLS) understands that it was the right time to reflect and plan for the next drought cycle.​

Therefore, LLS launched a new project to review its delivery of drought services to enhance future service preparation and delivery. LLS partnered with The Strategy Group (TSG) on this pivotal project aiming to uncover actionable lessons and recommendations for the future of LLS drought services.​

Approach

Using a lessons management and human-centred design approach to conduct robust research and co-create, iterate and generate meaningful outcomes for LLS staff and NSW landholders​.

The project comprised both qualitative and quantitative research with key LLS personnel from the Agriculture, Travelling Stock Reserves (TSR) and Animal Biosecurity & Welfare functions and ultimately aimed to:​

• Unveil the key lessons from previous drought responses​
• Identify opportunities for improvement of core services​
• Propose evidence-based recommendations to enhance drought management strategies and services​

To achieve this, The Strategy Group conducted in-depth interviews, online surveys and working sessions with key LLS staff and stakeholders.​

Outcomes

Key lessons, opportunities and recommendations to support the improvement of LLS drought preparation, response, and recovery services​.

Our time working with The Strategy Group on our continual improvement initiative was great. Right from the beginning, they displayed professionalism, expertise, flexibility, and a genuine interest in understanding our team and our unique needs. They made sure we could see real progress regularly and kept our project team engaged and interested. The feedback from our staff, who were interviewed by The Strategy Group, confirmed their skill in quickly establishing rapport and trust. The Strategy Group finished the project on schedule and within budget, providing us with a detailed report with recommendations that are proving to be very helpful for our improvement program.​ - Emmaline Froggatt, Business Partner Emergency Recovery & Preparedness​

The outcomes of the research and collaborative stakeholder sessions culminated in a final report that included several key outcomes and informed the development of a comprehensive drought plan and a combined operational plan between LLS and DPI. The outcomes included:​

• Key Lessons to improve Drought Preparation, Response and Recovery services: Through research synthesis and insights workshops with key LLS stakeholders, key themes, findings and insights were distilled into lessons that indicate the critical areas to improve or focus on in the next drought cycle.​
• Prioritised recommendations: Based on the research insights and lessons, a number of tactical and strategic recommendations were co-created and validated by The Strategy Group and key LLS stakeholders.​​