Community Engagement

 WFD projects typically proposes two key forms of Community Engagement in the form of Community Engagement Committees (CEC) and Community Funds for discussion with local communities in which its projects may be based.

Examples of both are detailed below but each is customised to reflect local community input.

Draft Community Engagement Committee Terms of Reference
Name – Community Engagement Committee (“CEC”).

Purpose.

  • To develop strategies to create an effective flow of information to and from the community regarding the proposed {Project Name } new renewable energy facility.
  • To act as a conduit for information flow and feedback between the local community, the proponent, the Council, and relevant stakeholders regarding the progress of the project.
  • To assist in the resolution of issues that may arise during the pre-construction, major construction and potentially the operational phases of the project.

Membership.

  • Up to three local community representatives with at least one living within [3-5]km of the Wind Farm project.
  • Up to two Council representatives being either Councillors and or Officers from the local Council duly authorised to represent the Council for such purpose.
  • Up to three project representatives with at least one on site contractor representative during the construction period and one owner representative duly authorised to represent the projectowner for such purpose.

Quorum.

  • At least 50% of the appointed members with at least one member required to be present from each stakeholder group, being the Community, Council, and the project.

Term.

  • From announcement of the commencement of major works at the site until at least 12 months after commercial operation of the project with the ongoing terms of reference typically reviewed and refined at the end of this time to reflect the lessons learnt and any local community input.
  • The role of the CEC and its interface with the project Committee Fund which is for the life of the project would also be considered at this time.

Meeting Frequency.

  • Monthly or as required.
  • A higher frequency may be required during the major construction period.

Voting.

  • All recommendations proposed by the Committee will be voted on, with the majority of votes determining whether the recommendation is carried or rescinded.
  • A consensus management approach is preferred.

Accountability.

  • Signed Minutes to be forwarded to each Committee member following every meeting.
  • The Minutes to be available on the project web site for all interested parties to see.
  • The Minutes may be added by the Council to its agenda, discussed and added to its records office for safe keeping.
  • The decisions of the Committee are not binding on any of the parties but are recommendations which it is anticipated will be reviewed and considered by each parties own governance process as appropriate and applicable.

End.

Draft Community Fund Terms and Conditions.

The project Community Fund will offer financial support to local community projects through a grant program. The grant program will provide between $[   ],000 of funding each year from commencement of construction of the project to decommissioning of the project. The amount will be up to $[ 12 ],000 each year or $[3],000 per wind turbine  generator installed for the commercial life of the project.

Organisations with suitable local community initiatives will be encouraged to apply by filling out an online application form available through the project specific web site. The goal is to provide financial support for projects that contribute to the social, economic and environmental sustainability of the community in the immediate vicinity of the project.

  Applicant Eligibility Criteria

 Applicants meeting the criteria below will be eligible for grants:

 Criterion 1. Grants are only available to organisations with an ABN. They are not available to individuals.

Criterion 2. If a grant recipient has previously received funding under this scheme, further grants will only be available once that organisation has completed the reporting requirement for those previous grants.

Criterion 3. Grants are not available to political organisations or for political campaigns under any circumstance.

Criterion 4. Grants are not available to religious organisations for religious purposes under any circumstance.

Criterion 5. Applicants may submit an application for only one project each year.

 Project Eligibility Criteria

 Community initiatives and or projects meeting the criteria listed below are eligible for grants:

 Criterion 1. The initiative and or proposal must be within the localities of the project, or alternatively be able to demonstrate a strong connection to the immediate district and or its local residents.

Criterion 2. The initiative and or proposal must deliver real measurable tangible benefits to the residents and or local communities of the project.

Criterion 3. Proposals should contribute to maintaining:

  • environmental sustainability,
  • economic sustainability;
  • education advancement in the areas of sustainability; and/or
  • social sustainability such as well-being, culture, recreation and education.

Criterion 4. Proposals should be complete before applications open for the following year. Grants for multi-year projects must be applied for on a year-by-year basis.

Criterion 5. Applicants must accept that their initiatives and or proposals and their deliverables/benefits may be publicised as being supported by the project.

Criterion 6. The maximum funding for any one project is 50% of the total available grant amount in any one year.

 Criterion 7. Any initiative or proposal directly effecting any adjoining neighbour should include a letter of support from such person evidencing their support.

Voting Rules

 As of 201[9/20] voting in the project grant program will operate as described in these Guidelines.

 In particular:

  • Community proposals will only be eligible to be included in the vote for funding if their nomination is accompanied by a letter of support from either the project and or an Eligible Voter; and
  • Voting and tallying of voting will occur as follows:

  Voting

  •  Each Eligible Voter can vote for as many initiatives and or proposals as they want, so long as the total value of the proposals they vote for adds up too less than the total amount available to be allocated;
  • There is only one vote per Eligible Voter per calendar year or per rounding round. It is not intended to give the same landowner/ratepayer within the area multiple votes or for votes to be altered after they are cast;
  •  For corporate and or multi owner landowners that are Eligible Voters the individual listed on the Council rates notice shall be the nominated contact and authorized agent for the Eligible Voter;
  •  The project will set up online voting to make this as easy as possible; and
  • Eligible Voters will be able to place their vote by email and or phone.

Allocation of the Grants will be based on Community Votes.

 The eligible proposal with the most votes will receive grant funding;

  • The eligible proposal with the next most votes that has a value less than the remaining pool of grant money will receive funding.
  • This will continue until there are no more eligible proposals to fund or no more money available.

Eligible Voters will be those on the local Council rating records as owning land and or living within 5-10kms (tbc) of the project at the time of the voting round. The Project Community Fund remains under review and will be the subject of further consultation with the Community Engagement Committee and residents/landowners living within 5-10km (tbc) of the project site.

Grant Application Process

The project will administer the grants and call for funding applications once per calendar year following the commencement of major construction works at the site. The local community will provide input on which eligible proposals best achieve the outcomes the community considers the most important to them. Application forms will be provided in a word format during the application period by  [              ].

It is expected that the project grant program will operate as detailed below but given the long term nature of the grant program this may be refined following consultation with and input from the local project community:

 Step 1

  • Download, complete and submit an application form to the project prior to the last working day of September each year.
  • Applicants will be notified of receipt within 3-5 working days.

Step 2

  • The project will check that each application meets the relevant criteria.
  • Applicants will be notified if their application does not meet the criteria.
  • All applications that meet the criteria will get moved on to Step 3.

Step 3

  • Details of all eligible proposals will be put on the project website.
  • Eligible Voters will vote for the eligible proposal that in their view best meets the goals of the project grant program.

Step 4

  • Voting will run from for 10 working days during the 3rd and 4th weeks of [set month] each year.
  • The project will make a final decision about which proposals receive grants based on this voting.
  • All Applicants will be notified of the decision.

Step 5

  • Successful applicants and project will enter into a standard funding agreement recording any joint funding, the agreed deliverables and the timeline.

Step 6

  • Successful applicants will be required to provide a short report and or photos of the completed initiative and or proposal once the grant has been spent and which will be published at least on the project web site.

  Questions?

Any interested organisation that has any questions regarding the grant program, will be able to contact the project community liaison officer through the contact form on the relevant project website.

End.