Regional Economic Development Service Delivery Working Party Friday 27 November 2020 at 10.30am

 

27 November 2020

Regional Economic Development Service Delivery Working Party Agenda

 

 

Recommendations contained in the agenda are NOT decisions of the meeting. Please refer to minutes for resolutions.

 

MEMBERSHIP OF THE Regional Economic Development Service Delivery Working Party

Chairperson, Councillor Justin Blaikie

NRC Councillor Colin Kitchen	KDC Councillor Anna Curnow	KDC Councillor Peter Wethey
FNDC Councillor John Vujcich	FNDC Councillor David Clendon

 

 

Item                                                                                                                                                                                   Page

1.0       Housekeeping

2.0       apologies   

3.0       declarations of conflicts of interest

4.0       Reports

4.1       Northland Inc. Limited: Statement of Intent 2021-2024                                                               3

4.2       Northland Inc. Limited: Appointment of directors                                                                       35

4.3       Schedule of meetings for the Regional Economic Development Service Delivery Working Party  41   

 

   

27 November 2020

 

TITLE:	Northland Inc. Limited: Statement of Intent 2021-2024
ID:	A1387997
From:	Darryl Jones, Economist
Authorised by Group Manager:	Ben Lee, GM - Strategy, Governance and Engagement, on 24 November 2020

 

One the two main purposes of the Regional Economic Development Service Delivery Working Party (Working Party) is to make recommendations to council on Northland Inc. Limited’s Statement of Intent 2021-2024 in a timely manner that allows council to fulfil its obligations under the Local Government Act 2002.  The purpose of this report is to outline to the Working Party the process by which this will be accomplished and to obtain any initial comments from the Working Party on the issues that could be raised in the letter of expectations which council intends to send to Northland Inc. before the end of the year. 

 

That the report ‘Northland Inc. Limited: Statement of Intent 2021-2024’ by Darryl Jones, Economist and dated 20 November 2020, be received.

 

The Local Government Act 2002 sets out specific requirements for developing a Statement of Intent (SOI) for a council-controlled organisation (CCO), including responsibilities, content and timing (Attachment 1).  An SOI must be developed each year, with the forecast financial statements covering a three-year period.  Northland Inc.’s current SOI for 2020-2023 is attached to this report (Attachment 2). 

 

In terms of timing, the three key dates are as follows: 

 

·    On or before 1 March: Northland Inc. to provide council with a draft SOI for the financial year beginning 1 July;

·    On or before 1 May: council to provide Northland Inc. with comments on the draft SOI; and

·    Before 1 July: Northland Inc. must deliver a SOI to shareholders.

 

To provide direction to Northland Inc. as it prepares its draft SOI for delivery on or before 1 March, council has adopted the practice of providing a letter of expectations to Northland Inc.  A letter of expectations is not a legislative requirement but is a practice that has been adopted to improve communication between the shareholder and the CCO.  This was one of the steps council took in response to the section 17A review of economic development service delivery undertaken in 2017 (regular quarterly workshops between council and the board of Northland Inc. was another such step taken to improve communication).  To provide opportunity for Northland Inc. to consider the comments made in the letter of expectations, council aims to provide this to Northland Inc. before the end of the calendar year. 

 

The letter of expectations sent to Northland Inc. in relation to the current SOI 2020-2023 is attached for reference (Attachment 3).  Council has begun the process of discussing the points to raise in this year’s letter of expectations.  The issues that have been raised are summarised in Attachment 4.

 

Consequently, based on the legislative time requirements and the processes adopted by council, the opportunities for the Working Party to make recommendations to council on Northland Inc.’s SOI 2021-2024 are summarised below.

 

1.    Opportunity to input into the letter of expectations:

o  27 November 2020 – reflections on the initial list of issues to cover; and

o  8 December 2020 – comments on a draft letter to be provided to the Working Party.

 

2.    Opportunity to input into council comments on the draft SOI:

o  5 March 2021 – discussion on draft received from Northland Inc.; and

o  28 March 2021 – comments on a draft letter of comments to Northland Inc. to be provided to the Working Party. 

 

 

Attachment 1: Local Government Act 2002 - Clause 64 and Schedule 8 ⇩

Attachment 2: Northland Inc. Limited: Statement of Intent 2020-2023 ⇩

Attachment 3: Letter of expectations to Northland Inc. Limited for SOI 2020-2023 ⇩

Attachment 4: Northland Inc. Limited: SOI 2021-2024 - Initial list of issues to cover in letter of expectations ⇩   

27 November 2020Attachment 1

 

 

 

 

 

 

27 November 2020Attachment 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

27 November 2020Attachment 3

 

27 November 2020Attachment 4

Northland Inc. Statement of Intent 2021-2024

Initial list of issues to cover in council’s letter of expectations

General comments

·    Need to incorporate Te Reo into the report

 

·    Reflect outcomes of the Māori economic development review undertaken

Overview (p.2-4)

·    Don’t think we need – better presentation within main body to show linkages between objectives, activities and key performance measures

Objectives (p.2)

·    Incorporate concept of sustainability – or even further, economic growth within the environment

 

·    Consider re-ordering of existing Objectives to align with activity areas

 

·    Whatever changes Northland Inc make to their objectives, need to clearly align with the activity areas

Context (p.7)

·    Revise to reflect new government policy, particularly in terms of regional economic development and funding

Nature and scope of activities to be undertaken (p.7-8)

·    Incorporate support for the Te Taitokerau Northland Economic Action Plan (TTNEAP) back into the list of activities undertaken

 

·    Consider a better activity title description than “Engagement, collaboration and visibility”

Regionally significant sectors (p.10)

·    Better description of “Marine” is required

Performance targets (p.11)

·    Differentiate between output and outcome targets, e.g. “Equivalent Advertising Value achieved from destination marketing” and “Visitor spend from target markets”, and have at least one of each for each activity area. 

 

·    Developing targets at the district level, or at least provide a commitment to report at that level, e.g. business engagement and value of vouchers issued. 

 

·    Rethink the “Visitors spend from target markets” as this currently is just total tourism spending in Northland.  Consider perhaps the local of the spending (e.g. by district) or the type of product being purchased.

27 November 2020

 

TITLE:	Northland Inc. Limited: Appointment of directors
ID:	A1387999
From:	Darryl Jones, Economist
Authorised by Group Manager:	Ben Lee, GM - Strategy, Governance and Engagement, on 24 November 2020

 

One of the two main purposes of the Regional Economic Development Service Delivery Working Party (Working Party) is to provide recommendations to council on the appointment of Northland Inc. Limited directors after following a process that is in conformity with council’s policy on the appointment of directors to council organisations.  To this end, the Working Party has been authorised to serve as the ad hoc appointment committee to recommend to council the appointment of three directors to Northland Inc. for terms to commence 1 July 2021.  The purpose of this report is to outline to the Working Party the process by which this will be accomplished and to obtain any initial comments from the Working Party on the process. 

 

That the report ‘Northland Inc. Limited: Appointment of directors’ by Darryl Jones, Economist and dated 20 November 2020, be received.

 

Council’s policy for the appoint of directors sets out the procedures that need to be followed in appointing directors to Northland Inc. (Attachment 1).  The following table outlines the current directors of Northland Inc. 

 

 

There are currently six directors of Northland Inc., of which the terms of four end on 30 June 2021: Sarah Peterson, Geoff Copstick, Jim Makaweo and Nicole Anderson.  Sarah Peterson has already exceeded her current term and is not available for reappointment. 

 

Council is looking to: 

 

·    appoint only three directors to return the number of directors back down to five;

·    that the three directors are to be appointed via an open advertising process rather than “re-appointed on rotation” basis; and

·    directors are to be selected based on the skills they have.

 

A skills matrix will be used to short list and appoint directors.  A draft skills matrix is provided as Attachment 2.  The advertisement that was used to advertise for directors in early 2018 is provided as Attachment 3. 

 

While all six members of the Working Party will be involved in the process of selecting applicants to interview, it is suggested that the Working Party appoint three of its members to serve as the interview panel.

 

The Working Party will also need to consider the length of appointment offered to the three nominated persons as it will be better to have the terms of no more than two directors coming to an end of any particular year. 

 

Consequently, based on the council’s policy for the appointment of directors and processes adopted by council, the opportunities for the Working Party to provide recommendations to council on the appointment of Northland Inc. Limited directors are summarised below:

 

1.    27 November 2020 – initial reflections on the timetable and process;

 

2.    8 December 2020 – sign off the skills list and job advertisement, and appointment of interview panel;

 

3.    5 March 2021 – review and selection of applicants for interview; and

 

4.    28 March 2021 – receive, discuss and approve recommendations from the interview panel including terms of directors.

 

 

Attachment 1: Policy on the appointment of directors to council organisations (LTP 2018-2028) ⇩

Attachment 2: Northland Inc. Limited: Draft Director Skills Matrix ⇩

Attachment 3: Northland Inc. director advertisement March 2018 ⇩   

27 November 2020Attachment 1

 

27 November 2020Attachment 2

Northland Inc. Ltd

Director skills and experience matrix

Although it is the Board’s responsibility to manage the matrix, council has an interest to know that potential directors are assessed according to the following key attributes:

 

Key attributes Skills and/or experience	HIGH match	MEDIUM match	LOW match
1. Finance, accounting and audit
2. Shareholder and stakeholder relations
3. Informed decision making
4. Health and safety and general risk management
5. People and culture and reputation
6. Communication
7. Knowledge of tikanga Maori
8. Governance, strategy and leadership
9. Business acumen
10. Change management
11. Crisis management
12. Understanding of economic development
13. Awareness of relevant environmental issues

 

Note:  Only in exceptional circumstances (which should be noted) should a “HIGH” match be recorded where the skills and experience arise solely from an existing directorship with Northland Inc.

 

 

27 November 2020                                                                                                                                   Attachment 3

 

 

Applications for Directors

Northland Inc Ltd

 

Northland Inc Ltd is a 100% owned Council Controlled Organisation of Northland Regional Council, which is the designated Economic Development Agency (EDA) and Regional Tourism Organisation (RTO) for the Northland region.  Northland Regional Council is seeking applications from prospective Directors of Northland Inc Ltd.

Applicants must have a passion for Northland’s economic prosperity and proven strategy development skills.  They must also have relevant work experience in one or more of the following:

·   economic development

·   regional tourism development

·   investment management

·   risk management

Previous directorship experience would be an advantage. 

To find out more, including a copy of the person specification, visit our website:  www.nrc.govt.nz/jobs.  Enquiries should be directed to Malcolm Nicolson, Chief Executive Officer at malcolmn@nrc.govt.nz.  Applications in writing, accompanied by curriculum vitae, close at 5.00pm on 19 April 2018 and should be addressed to:

 

Beryl Steele

Human Resources Manager

Northland Regional Council

Private Bag 9021

WHANGAREI  0148

 

Telephone: (09) 470 1200

Fax: (09) 470 1202

Email:  mailroom@nrc.govt.nz

 

 

27 November 2020

 

TITLE:	Schedule of meetings for the Regional Economic Development Service Delivery Working Party
ID:	A1388081
From:	Darryl Jones, Economist
Authorised by Group Manager:	Ben Lee, GM - Strategy, Governance and Engagement, on 24 November 2020

 

The following table sets out the proposed schedule of meetings for the Regional Economic Development Service Delivery Working Party (Working Party).  Additional meetings of the interview panel will occur between the meeting on Friday 5 March and Tuesday 23 March to interview selected candidates. 

 

This schedule of meetings has been set up to meet the two specific objectives of the Working Party, i.e. input into the Statement of Intent and appointment of directors.  It is recommended that the Working Party review the Terms of Reference for the Working Party (Attachment One) to determine whether there are any other matters relating to the regional economic development service delivery that they wish to recommend to council that they be requested to provide input on. 

 

Meeting date	Purpose
Friday 27 November 2020	Initial meeting of the Working Party Discussion on Terms of Reference for Working Party
Tuesday 8 December 2020	Quarterly workshop between NRC/Northland Inc. Comments on draft letter of expectation Sign off director appointment process (including interview panel)
Friday 5 March 2021	Comments on draft SOI received from Northland Inc. Shortlisting of director candidates to interview
Tuesday 23 March 2021	Quarterly workshop between NRC/Northland Inc. Comments on draft letter to Northland Inc. containing comments on the draft SOI. Agree on persons to recommend as directors of Northland Inc.

 

 

1.    That the report ‘Schedule of meetings for the Regional Economic Development Service Delivery Working Party’ by Darryl Jones, Economist and dated 20 November 2020, be received.

 

2.    That the schedule of meetings for the Regional Economic Development Service Delivery Working Party be agreed.

 

Not relevant.

 

Attachment 1: Terms of Reference of the Regional Economic Development Service Delivery Working Party ⇩   

27 November 2020Attachment 1

Document approval

Date	Section amended	Approved By
15 September 2020	Original TOR adopted by council.	As per council resolution
20 November 2020	Replaced John Bain with Justin Blaikie	As per council resolution
20 November 2020	Added in names of district council representatives	As provided for in council resolution

 

Membership

The Regional Economic Development Service Delivery Working Party shall be comprised of two (2) councillors from Northland Regional Council (the council) and two (2) elected members from each of Kaipara District Council and Far North District Council (district councils) as follows:

                       

Chair:	Cr Justin Blaikie
Member:	Cr Colin Kitchen
District council representation:	Two (2) members from each of the two (2) District Councils as follows: Cr John Vujcich, Far North District Council Cr David Clendon, Far North District Council Cr Anna Curnow, Kaipara District Council Cr Peter Wethey, Kaipara District Council

 

Standing orders do not apply.

Quorum

The quorum for meetings of the working party shall be four (4).  District council members count towards a quorum.  Each local authority must be represented by at least one (1) member to constitute a quorum. 

 

Purpose and term

Northland Inc. Limited is currently 100% owned by Northland Regional Council.  The establishment of this working party does not remove or reduce council’s responsibilities as the single shareholder of Northland Inc. Limited.

The working party has been established to assist with the potential transition of Northland Inc. Limited to a jointly owned council-controlled organisation (CCO).  This development is being consulted on by the district councils in their Long Term Plan 2021-2031.

The term of the working party will conclude on 30 June 2021.

 

Vision, mission and areas of focus (Long Term Plan 2018-2028)

Our Northland – together we thrive.  Working together to create a healthy environment, strong economy and resilient communities.

 

The working party will contribute directly to the following areas of focus:

·    A strong regional economy

·    Efficient and effective service delivery

 

Objectives

The objectives of the working party are to:

 

·    Make recommendations to council on the appointment of Northland Inc. Limited directors;

·    Make recommendations to council on Northland Inc. Limited’s Statement of Intent 2021-2024; and

·    Make recommendations to council on any other matters relating to the regional economic development service delivery as requested by council.

 

Responsibilities

The working party is directly responsible and accountable to the council for the exercise of its responsibilities.  Written updates will be provided to council as appropriate. 

 

In carrying out its responsibilities, the working party must at all times recognise that primary responsibility for management of the council rests with the Chief Executive.

 

For reasons of efficiency and/or expediency, should the working party not be able to perform their functions, the council will assume their role and responsibilities.

Role and functions

Council authorises the working party, within the scope of its Terms of Reference, role and responsibilities, to:

1.    General

a)    Subject to operating within approved budget allocation - obtain information it needs from the CEO and/or external party (subject to their legal obligation to protect information);

b)    Request the attendance of any employee, subject to the Chief Executive’s approval, at meetings of the working party or its working groups;

c)    To regularly report progress on its functions to the council; and

d)    Undertake such other functions as may be delegated by council from time to time.

 

2.    Regional Economic Development Service Delivery

For regional economic development service delivery activities:

a)    Provide recommendations to council on the appointment of Northland Inc. Limited directors after following a process that is in conformity with council’s policy on the appointment of directors to council organisations;

b)    Provide recommendations to council on Northland Inc. Limited’s Statement of Intent 2021-2024 in a timely manner that allows council to fulfil its obligations under the Local Government Act 2002; and  

c)    Attend the quarterly workshop sessions between council and the Board of Northland Inc. Limited.

 

3.       No Delegated Authority – Power to Act

The working party has no delegated authority or power to act.