The Catchment and Land Protection (CaLP) Act 1994 requires CMAs to identify procedures for monitoring the implementation of their Regional Catchment Strategy (RCS).

To improve alignment with State policy and consistency of monitoring and reporting across Victoria, an RCS Outcomes Framework has been developed.

The RCS Outcomes Framework: mandates a set of Regional Outcomes (refer bottom row) aligned with state policy outcomes that include condition and outcome indicators, to be included in all RCSs., and allows for RCS visions and other regionally relevant outcomes to be developed by CMAs.

The RCS Outcomes Framework includes guidance notes for each of the Regional Outcomes which specify the data source and format of presentation to ensure consistency of reporting. Regional Outcomes have been included under the relevant themes of this RCS in the ‘Assessment of condition and trends’ sections. They have been used to developed associated Outcomes (noting that ‘number of partnerships’ is included under the Community theme). Other regionally relevant outcomes have been developed too, ensuring that data to measure progress is readily available.

All priority directions and outcomes, including Regional Outcomes, are outlined in the RCS Monitoring, Evaluation Reporting and Improvement (MERI) Framework, noting relevant data, monitoring and reporting methods. As the overarching strategy for the North Central CMA, the RCS informs program/project planning. Implementation of these programs/projects is reported regularly in accordance with the North Central CMA’s MERI strategy; policies; procedures, and systems and via corporate and investor reporting. Regional partner organisations have their own MERI processes.

Collating data from partners across the region, to accurately inform progress of RCS implementation is currently a time-consuming task, as each organisation has different methods and systems. It is expected that DELWP will provide regional data to track progress towards Biodiversity outcomes.

The North Central CMA will continue to work with our regional partners and state government departments to improve data sharing for other outcomes. For the time being, the North Central RCS MERI Framework identifies key datasets that are readily available. The mid-term and final review of the RCS present opportunities for more detailed evaluation and reporting (refer Strategy review section) including collation of relevant data from regional RCS partners to track progress of implementation.