In 2018, Regional Design Service attended the RTIC annual general meeting to listen in and see how we might be able to aid with project delivery and grant funding applications. What became apparent during the meeting was that the community had many ideas for their town, but no way of sorting the numerous small projects into a structured delivery plan. Without a solid plan many projects were falling to the wayside and volunteers were burning out or loosing faith that anything could be achieved. By the end of the meeting we offered to develop a strategic vision for the town with key projects to be delivered towards its centenary in 2026. The overriding purpose of PLAN RAND was to collate and articulate the communities’ vision, whilst proposing ongoing placemaking projects. It would also act as a case study for other small rural communities to see what can be achieved through the generation of an overarching vision.

Over 12 months we met monthly with the committee to develop project outcomes. We also held regular community meetings, including surveys, and undertook an engagement workshop at one of the netball and football home games.

For a town population of 250 residents, most meetings had 20-30 attendees as well as regular representation from Federal, State and Local Politicians. Since completion of the plan, we regularly attend town meetings and undertake 12 monthly reviews to understand and share how much the community has achieved / delivered.

Acceptance of, and engagement with PLAN RAND has been an incredible success - In addition to securing grants and engaging professional services, in less than 12 months after the delivery of PLAN RAND, the community had nearly completed upgrades to accessible amenities in two community venues, engaged a landscape architect to develop a plan for the new railway corridor parklands, and finished various other town improvements.

From a commercial perspective, the community was awarded almost 25% of the Federation Council regions $1M Drought Funding in 2019. Projects funded were all recommendations of PLAN RAND, which included the delivery of accessible amenities and improvements to encourage overnight tourist visits. Before PLAN RAND the community struggled to justify projects for grant funding.