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2015 Clearwater survey - Executive summary

08/09/2015

In May/June 2015, Clearwater sent out an online survey to collect industry feedback on (1) Drivers, barriers and challenges relating to the implementation of Integrated Water Management (IWM), (2) Clearwater’s current service performance and (3) communication and learning preferences. A total of 116 respondents from Victoria and new South Wales contributed to the data. 

High levels findings include:

  • Respondents were asked to rate the improvement needed for a range of previously identified industry gaps and needs for the successful implementation of IWM. They felt that most improvement was needed in the 'industry' and 'organisation' levels, as opposed to the 'individual' level. Priority areas for major improvement included:
    • Ties between water and planning industry
    • Strong leadership and direction in IWM
    • Cost and benefit information of IWM – business case
    • Clear and holistic legislation on IWM
    • Planning provisions and deemed-to-comply solutions
  • Overall, Clearwater is seen as providing high quality value-for-money services . Clearwater was rated highly for building individual and organisational capacity in IWM, with respondents agreeing that Clearwater services: had an impact on their personal knowledge; benefited their organisations; and, helped to develop their networks.
  • Across all respondents, the top 3 sources of information and advice were ‘personal networks’ and ‘people in their own organisations’, followed by capacity building programs. Communication channels such as emails, e-newsletters and face-to-face communications scored high, and respondents showed a clear preference for learning methods involving face-to-face contact.

This report summarises the survey’s main findings.