Camden Social and Cultural Infrastructure Framework
Camden Council, NSW
Camden local government area is one of Australia’s fastest-growing areas, including a diverse mix of urban, rural and semi-rural landscapes. Like many growth areas, the delivery of social and cultural infrastructure is lagging behind this urban and population growth and change. Key gaps include a lack of schools, childcare, hospitals and large spaces for up to 1,000 people for cultural gatherings.
To address this, Camden Council engaged CRED Consulting to prepare its first Social and Cultural Infrastructure Framework. The Framework assesses the current state of social and cultural infrastructure across Camden LGA, identify existing gaps and establish a strategic approach to guide all responsible agencies future investment in social and cultural infrastructure planning, delivery and management over the next 10 to 20 years.
The Framework demonstrates how Council’s social and cultural infrastructure can support broader strategic objectives, including the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, Council’s social justice principles and key Australian and NSW Government Wellbeing indicators, such as Measuring What Matters.
The Framework is informed by a strong evidence base including a strategic review, demographic analysis, community wellbeing indicators, community engagement, Council staff and government agency meetings, best practice trends and benchmarking and an audit. It will also be supported by a decision-making matrix, a social impact checklist and a Result-Based Accountability (RBA) outcomes framework.
HOW WE DID IT
Planning for community infrastructure provision in a rapidly growing and increasingly socially, culturally and economically diverse community requires insight, consistency and vision at scale. CRED designed and delivered a comprehensive and evidence-based suite of tools to support the planning of and investment in a responsive and sustainable network of social and cultural infrastructure from schools to cultural centres, to libraries, and early childhood education and care.
We delivered:
- A consolidated database of the social and cultural facilities network across the LGA comprising Council and non-Council assets that were audited to capture the extent of the network and map ownership and management responsibilities.
- Engagement with Council teams, community service providers, facility user groups, and the broader Camden community.
- A detailed evidence-based background report.
- A bespoke and leading practice Social and Cultural Infrastructure Framework to assess the level of fit-for-purpose of community facilities, which aligns with key United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), Australian and NSW Government and Council’s own Wellbeing indicators.
- A Social Impact Framework and Result-Based Accountability Outcomes Framework to guide Council’s internal decision making.
- An interactive dashboard that provides an overview of needs that can be filtered and viewed either by community infrastructure category, type or local area.
Image credit: Fancy Boy Photography
OUTCOMES
The Social and Cultural Infrastructure Framework provides Council with an LGA-wide, place-based and cohort specific guide to assess, plan, prioritise and invest in social and community infrastructure for the next 20 years.
The interactive dashboard provides an ongoing data source to understand the supply, condition, utilisation and fit-for-purpose of its assets and to use this information to guide negotiations, improvements, investment and activation.
“The CRED team were extremely profesional and vigilant. Value for money was exceptional. The team brought a really complex project to light.”
Senior Social Planner,
Camden Council