Start Plan Monitoring Early

Think about monitoring at the start of the policy and plan development process. Do not wait until the plan is fully operative or useful information may be missed. 

Develop a monitoring/evaluation programme at the same time as plan provisions are developed but recognise things may change. 

Monitor the implementation of policy and plans. It is essential to know that plan methods are being implemented before checking that anticipated outcomes are being achieved. 

Monitor the efficiency and effectiveness of processes used in implementing plans including timeliness and cost and user satisfaction.  

Remember monitoring is a systematic and ongoing process rather than a one-off task. This means there will be a continuous review process for policies and plans. 

Be focused; monitor priority matters first. Many councils have started by monitoring and reviewing the environmental results expected (EREs) in policy and plans. This helps to determine if EREs are being achieved and whether or not they need to be more focused (and rewritten) to be measurable. This is all part of the monitoring process. 

Consider the plan's context and external factors, eg, population growth or decline. 

Establish the links with monitoring the state of the environment and the monitoring of resource consents, compliance and complaints.