Canterbury Policy and other regional forums

Policy, Corporate, Operations, Economic Development, and Communications and Engagement Forums identify issues affecting Canterbury, investigate opportunities for collaboration and joint advocacy and co-ordinate the effective delivery of local government services.

Policy Forum

The Mayoral Forum established a Policy Forum in 2013 to:

• identify issues affecting Canterbury and investigate whether they can benefit from collaboration and/or joint advocacy
• reduce duplication of policy effort and work more effectively and efficiently together
• provide support to smaller councils when assessing national and regional policy initiatives
• facilitate communication and engagement with Ngāi Tahu
• practise working together in ways that support innovation, collaboration and joint initiatives.

Canterbury Corporate and Operations Forums

In 2017, the Chief Executives Forum also established a Canterbury Corporate Forum and a Canterbury Operations Forum. In 2022 they established the Canterbury Economic Development Forum and in 2023 the Communications and Engagement Forum. All five forums:

• harness the expertise of technical working groups to inform advice to the Mayoral Forum
• provide a mechanism to co-ordinate and align local government activity in ways that ‘stand together for Canterbury’ and support the effective and efficient delivery of local government services.

Working groups reporting to regional forums include planning managers, finance managers, chief information officers, records and information managers, engineering managers, regulatory managers, working groups on climate change and natural hazards, regional housing steering group and the Canterbury stormwater forum.

The Policy Forum is chaired by Hamish Dobbie (Hurunui District Council, Chief Executive), the Corporate Forum by Angela Oosthuizen (Mackenzie District Council, Chief Executive), the Operations Forum by Stuart Duncan (Waimate District Council, Chief Executive), the Economic Development Forum by Sharon Mason (Selwyn District Council, Chief Executive) and the Communications and Engagement Forum by Will Doughty (Kaikōura District Council, Chief Executive).

Related pages
Agenda, papers and minutes from Forum meetings
News from the Canterbury Policy Forum
Mayoral Forum
Chief Executives Forum
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