2022·Complete

Regional Drought Resilience Planning for Queensland Foundational Year (Round 1)

Rural Economies Centre of Excellence, Department of Agriculture and Fisheries

In 2022, The Yellow Company was engaged to support the Regional Drought Resilience Planning (RDRP) program in Queensland. This large-scale project involved collaboration with multiple organisations across different geographical locations. The project faced various unforeseen challenges, such as scheduling changes, external disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and natural disasters beyond the project team’s control. Despite this, all five pilot regions developed a comprehensive Regional Drought Resilience Plan which is showcased on the RDRP website, which Yellow developed.

Dates
2021 - 2022
Status
Complete
Key Achievements
Received three high-level awards from the Australian Institute of Project Management: National winner (Government projects), Queensland Project of the Year, State winner (Government projects).

Projects for purpose

The RDRP project will support all regions throughout Queensland to become more resilient to future drought.

Problem

The project was complex and required a bespoke approach to meet the distinctive needs and expertise of all partners. The project team had to coordinate with various stakeholders to ensure successful project delivery despite external challenges.

Methodology

The Yellow Company adopted a customised project management approach that fulfilled the specific requirements of the RDRP project. The project team implemented a centralised coordination function for all regional teams and a Communications and Engagement Plan to enable effective stakeholder management planning.

Results

Despite the external challenges, the RDRP project successfully delivered five RDR plans by the set deadline. Over 350 engagement activities were carried out, involving almost 200 unique stakeholders across all pilot regions. Effective stakeholder management strategies ensured buy-in from regional entities such as Regional Organisations of Councils (ROCs), partnerships of individual councils, and Regional Development Australia (RDA) committees.

Analysis

The Yellow Company’s project management approach brought rigour, discipline, and timeliness to the coordination and project reporting that ensured the RDRP project’s success. Stakeholders were informed of any schedule changes and were actively involved in decision-making.

Conclusion

The success of the RDRP project has enabled The Yellow Company to continue providing project management support to the remaining nine regions. The project’s success has been recognised by various bodies, including the Australian Institute of Project Management (AIPM), which declared the project as the 2022 recipient of the Queensland Project of the Year award, Queensland Government Projects category award and the National Winner accolade for the Government Projects category at the 2022 AIPM National Project Management Achievement Awards.

An independent auditor assessed the program, including evaluating Yellow’s involvement, finding “the project management was viewed as effective – bringing rigour, discipline, and timeliness to the coordination and project reporting.” Specifically, the “Yellow Company was thought to be excellent…”.

Overall, the success of the RDRP project highlights the importance of effective project management strategies, stakeholder engagement, and adaptability in achieving project objectives. The Yellow Company’s project management expertise enabled the delivery of this program and contributed to achieving a much-needed level of regional drought resilience in Queensland.

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