Whenua management best practice

Have a business plan

The business plan must relate to the strategic plan, and outline key actions that will be taken in the short term to work towards the long term strategic goals.

Developing a business plan

Have clear roles and responsibilities

If possible, trustees should have responsibility for different aspects of the strategic plan. Invest in training if needed, or hire specialists for particular tasks or roles that trustees or owners don't have the skills to do.

Assigning roles and tasks

Build relationships

Strong relationships with owners, suppliers and stakeholders like your local council can help hugely with work on the whenua.

For example:

• people within the ownership base might have skills, knowledge or contacts that can help you get work done for free or at reduced cost
• council contacts might know about different funding options, or could help with complex consent issues.

Keep on top of compliance

You need to make sure you're meeting legal and financial obligations and following any rules that apply. This helps to ensure the stability of your trust.

Make sure you stay on top of things like:

• up-to-date insurance
• health and safety obligations
• paying council rates
• getting any necessary consents for work you're doing.

Meeting compliance obligations

Develop a reporting framework

Trustees should get regular reports on whenua performance and all work happening on and related to the whenua. You need a plan around:

• what information you need from different sources
• how often you need the information
• how best to share information with your landowners.

Monitoring and measuring success