Nick Prasser & Tony Dileo

1. DEVELOPING A CITY TRANSPORT
PLAN IN AN URBAN GROWTH AREA
– Lessons Learnt
2016 AITPM National Conference
28 July 2016

2. INTRODUCTION
• City of Ipswich Transport Plan (iGO) recently developed
• 26 “lessons learnt” when producing iGO
• Lessons can be used by others when preparing a strategic
planning document in a public sector organisation
(not just local government)
• Four years of planning & project management effort
• Aspects include drivers, branding, scoping, governance
and stakeholder engagement

3. CITY OF IPSWICH
• Centrally located in South-east Queensland
• Brisbane CBD - 40 minutes
Gold Coast - 1 hour
• Queensland’s first regional city
• Renowned for its architectural heritage
• Confluence of three national highways
• Major railway line (SEQ passenger system)
• Amberley – Australia’s premier defence facility (>7000 Airforce & Army
personnel)

4. CITY OF IPSWICH
• Current population = 190,000
• Queensland’s fastest growing city
• 42% of SEQ industrial land stock
• Two CBDs @ Ipswich Central & Springfield Central
• Two ‘master planned’ communities at Springfield & Ripley
 population to more than double over the
coming decades

5. CITY OF IPSWICH
• Similar geographical position to Parramatta
• Future of Ipswich is bright with many opportunities for economic growth &
community development

6. CITY OF IPSWICH TRANSPORT PLAN
Branded as ‘iGO’
Outlines Council’s aspirations to advance Ipswich’s transport system as a
result of population growth
Will guide future policy, resourcing and investment decision making
Advocacy tool

7. CITY OF IPSWICH TRANSPORT PLAN
Key outcomes:
Culture shift
Transport & land use integration
Facilitating travel mode choices

8. CITY OF IPSWICH TRANSPORT PLAN
Key Messages:
Proper resourcing & investment
Clever new thinking

9. LESSONS LEARNT
DRIVERS
Every good project needs a reason for doing it - a driver – the ‘why’
Learning #1: Having a number of project ‘drivers’ (reasons for doing the project) assisted with
obtaining project momentum including necessary budget allocations and securing
organisational and stakeholder ‘buy in’.

10. LESSONS LEARNT
BRANDING
The intention is to use the iGO branding as part of its delivery including corridor
studies, infrastructure projects, community programs, public awareness and
promotional campaigns.
Learning #2: Giving the project a ‘brand’ was a clever way to raise the profile and positioning of the
project and will assist with its marketing, advocacy and subsequent delivery.

11. LESSONS LEARNT
‘IN HOUSE’ PRODUCTION
Learning #3: Undertaking the greater majority (90%) of the development of iGO ‘in house’ (using
internal resources) provided greater control over, and ownership of, the project’s
inputs, outputs, outcomes and intellectual property that will have future corporate
capacity benefits for Council in the delivery of iGO.

12. LESSONS LEARNT
PROJECT TEAM - Structure

13. LESSONS LEARNT
PROJECT TEAM – Executive Sponsor
Learning #4: Establish a project team with not only a:
(1) ‘Project Director’ To lead project resourcing, inception and scoping and
provide guidance and mentorship to the Project Manager;
But also an :
(2) ‘Executive Sponsor’ To ensure senior management ownership of the project
and its outcomes;

14. LESSONS LEARNT
PROJECT TEAM – Project Manager
Learning #5: Appoint a dedicated Project Manager with a specific position description created for
the role and a remuneration level suitable for a role with key performance targets and
a degree of working autonomously.

15. LESSONS LEARNT
PROJECT TEAM – Project Manager
Learning #6: Select a Project Manager who has the following attributes:
(1) Strategic thinker;
(2) Liking of the subject matter and thus a desire to achieve quality outputs;
(3) Able to establish good working relationships with stakeholders;
(4) Happy to perform ‘day to day’ operational tasks;
Preferably with:
(5) Some local knowledge; and
(6) An understanding of the organisation’s processes.
The role may best be filled by an existing employee within the organisation whom
could be seconded into the position for the project duration.

16. LESSONS LEARNT
PROJECT TEAM – Strategic Advisor
Learning #7: Appoint an external Strategic Advisor with substantial expertise in the project’s
subject matter to provide guidance and direction to the Project Manager - particularly
during the inception, scoping and project planning phases.

17. LESSONS LEARNT
PROJECT TEAM – Technical Working Group
Learning #8: Establish a small Technical Working Group to obtain input from others areas of
expertise within the organisation.

18. LESSONS LEARNT
POLITICAL CHAMPION
Learning #9: Having an enthusiastic ‘Political Champion’ provided project leadership, ownership
and momentum at the political level.

19. LESSONS LEARNT
GOVERNANCE
Learning #10: Establishing a Steering Group, as part of the project’s governance structure, provided
direction to the project team and assisted with effective, timely and robust decision
making. Membership of the Steering Group was a mix of politicians and senior
bureaucrats as well state government representation.

20. LESSONS LEARNT
REPORTING
Learning #11: Providing regular reports to Council (through the standing committee governance
process) ensured all politicians were ‘kept in the loop’ and thus part of the project
‘journey’.

21. LESSONS LEARNT
QUEENSLAND GOVERNMENT ‘BUY IN’
Learning #12: Obtaining project ‘buy in’ from the relevant State Government agency (through
actions, not just words) ensured it was a strategic transport plan for the city, not just a
strategic plan for the organisation.

22. LESSONS LEARNT
STRATEGIC PHASING
Learning #13: Identifying and then consistently following a strategic phasing for the project
informed the detail project plan / schedule and allowed others outside the project
team to follow the development of iGO and its progress in a simplistic manner.

23. LESSONS LEARNT
SCOPING
Learning #14: Identifying the project scope (including out of scope items) and getting it approved by
Council allowed the Project Team to develop iGO with confidence and certainty.

24. LESSONS LEARNT
SCOPING
Learning #15: Whilst taking longer to produce, scoping iGO with some substance and commitments
(not just a ‘motherhood’ document) produced a practical document that will allow for
Council’s future budgets, transport planning activities, operational strategies, policy
development and infrastructure projects to be readily linked back to iGO and its
outcomes and brand.

25. LESSONS LEARNT
HORIZON
Learning #16: Using a population target, rather than a specific timeframe, as iGO’s planning horizon
aligns with Queensland Government regional planning objectives, ensures a level of
commitment to actions yet allows some degree of flexibility and resilience to the
document and its outcomes.

26. LESSONS LEARNT
BUDGET
Learning #17: Budget the development of a strategic planning document depending on its scope and
the production values of the outputs.

27. LESSONS LEARNT
BUDGET
Learning #18: If to be used as an advocacy tool, funding used to develop a strategic planning
document should be seen as an investment rather than a cost.

28. LESSONS LEARNT
DURATION
Learning #19: When preparing the project plan, set realistic timeframes for the development of
strategic planning documents. This includes not rushing outputs for the sake of
meeting ambit deadlines but with the Project Director ensuring there is momentum
throughout each development phase.

29. LESSONS LEARNT
MODELLING
Learning #20: Whilst important to undertake, don’t put too much emphasis on the transport
modelling tasks when developing a citywide strategic transport plan as it will impact
on time and costs and effect project momentum.

30. LESSONS LEARNT
MODELLING
Learning #21: Traffic modelling is best suited to be done at an area or corridor level rather than the
citywide level.

31. LESSONS LEARNT
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
Learning #22: Developing and implementing an approved Marketing & Communications Plan
provided the project team with the opportunity to position the project with key
stakeholders, gain valuable input about community aspirations, obtain the support
from potential project advocates and secure positive media relationships.

32. LESSONS LEARNT
PRODUCTION VALUES – Plan Structure
Learning #23: Structuring the iGO document with a (1) Fast Facts; (2) Executive Summary and
(3) Technical sections allowed it be accessible and easily comprehended by the various
target audiences.

33. LESSONS LEARNT
PRODUCTION VALUES – Graphic Design
Learning #24: Embedding a graphic designer into the project team during part of the iGO
development process ensured the free flow of creative ideas and high production
values.

34. LESSONS LEARNT
PURPOSE
Learning #25: Having a clear well defined and understood project purpose is where individuals can
draw their strength from.

35. LESSONS LEARNT
LEADERSHIP
Learning #26: Demonstrating strong leadership by knowing and believing that you are doing the
right thing and ‘sticking to your guns’ is critical to eventual project success.

36. CONCLUSION
The development of iGO is considered a major accomplishment at both the
political and bureaucratic levels.
However the true measure of its success will be in its implementation over
the coming years.