Welcome to G21 - Background

The journey that initiated the Geelong Region Alliance started in late 2001.

The City of Greater Geelong at this time had developed a concept to aid improved community well being in the future across multiple industries. No predetermined planning models or structures were initially considered for the idea, though it was quickly acknowledged that for the idea to come to life, it needed multi-regional expansion and support.

As the idea grew, the City of Greater Geelong hosted a range of meetings in 2002 which saw the Mayors and Chief Executive Officer&s of neighbouring municipalities, Golden Plains, Queenscliffe, Surf Coast and Colac Otway Shire, as well as state government, community and business leaders brainstorming the initiative.

The purpose of these meetings was to discuss the potential benefits of a collaborative approach to creating a regional plan and to seek and confirm the level of interest and commitment of working together.

Tracing the footsteps of G21:

July 2004	A Special General Meeting will be called to form the First Board of G21, Geelong Region Alliance.
June 1, 2004	The final drafts of the G21 Constitution, Board Charter and Memorandum of Understanding are completed and placed on our website. The documents will remain in draft form until they are adopted by the First Board.
May 25, 2004	City of Greater Geelong Council adopt the recommendation to fund G21 for 4 Years and support it becoming a Company. All five Councils have now agreed to support G21 becoming a Company Limited by Guarantee and provide funding.
April 30, 2004	Cr Ed Coppe, Mayor City of Greater Geelong was elected Chair of the G21 Leadership Group.
26 February, 2004	Golden Plains Shire is the first of the five G21 Councils to formally adopt a recommendation to join with other participating regional Councils in the formation of G21 as a Company Limited by Guarantee. They also agree to a 4 Year rolling funding agreement to fund the company.
January 30, 2004	G21 Process Improvement Workshops commenced (3 in total) to review and receive feedback on our first Year of planning. The review is imperative to effectively undertaking Strategy implementation and improving the operation and effectiveness of G21.
January 30, 2004	First meeting of the G21 Leadership Group for 2004. The group endorses the following documents continue development and be used for participation/funding submission purposes: G21 Constitution, Board Charter and Establishment Process.
November 17-21, 2003	Four regional launches were held across the remaining four Council municipalities to launch the Strategic Plan to those communities.
November 14, 2003	The first Geelong Region Strategic Plan was launched at Geelong&s Deakin University Waterfront, by Minister John Brumby.
October 31, 2003	The G21 Leadership Group &approved in principle& the recommended Governance Model of a Company Limited by Guarantee. A Governance Action Plan was endorsed to try and progress this option. Constitution, Charter, Business Plan and Establishment Process now to be developed.
September 29, 2003	Draft One of the Strategic Plan was reviewed and amendments recorded for inclusion in Draft Two by the G21 Leadership Group. The Plan was approved in principle to proceed to completion, editing and publication. Regional launches in all municipalities confirmed for approximately 17th November 2003.
Sept 29 to 23 Oct, 2003	Nine Governance Consultation sessions were conducted with the following groups: CEOs/Mayors of each G21 Council, Councillors of each G21 Council, Pillar Leaders, Project Management Group, Committee for Geelong and regional Agencies. These sessions were to discuss and receive feedback on the five governance models proposed and the &preferred& option.
September 23, 2003	Monash University, Centre of Policy Studies, releases a report "Medium term Economic Forecasts for the Barwon Region". The Report, commissioned by G21 and Committee for Geelong, forecast strong growth for the region for the period to 2015 across 49 industry sectors.
August 29, 2003	Member for South Barwon, Michael Crutchfield is announced as the G21 Political Champion.
June to September 2003	Pillar Groups refine "Initial Frameworks". Pillar Leaders meet fortnightly for half Days to develop/integrate the Strategic Plan.
May 30, 2003	Colac Otway Shire formerly enter the G21 Alliance. The Shire already had a strong presence in Pillar Group activity and are a welcome member to the Leadership Group.
May 15, 2003	$77,000 Federal Government Regional Assistance Program funding through the local Geelong Area Consultative Committee is announced as successful. The funding is important to ensure depth of development for the process but more important is the fact that the three levels of government are now formally committed to this regional initiative.
May 6, 2003	Pillar Leader Workshops commence on a fortnightly basis to establish and co-ordinate the agreed process to develop the Strategic Regional Plan.
May 2, 2003	The Honourable John Brumby officially launched the G21 project. Bernard Salt of KPMG conducts a presentation on the &Big Shift& reinforcing the regional growth expected for our region.
April 24, 2003	Cr Barbara Abley, Mayor of the City of Greater Geelong is elected Chair of G21 at the Leadership Group meeting. The brand of the group has been agreed as G21. And the name: &Geelong Region Alliance& and the message: &Our Region_Your Future& were also agreed. The purpose of G21 has been agreed as: To lead and support activities that benefit the well-being of the communities of the Barwon region.
March, April, May 2003	All Pillar Groups commence Planning Workshops to develop "Initital Frameworks".
March 21, 2003	Project Management Group formed to assist/advise on Alliance Plan Development processes. Governance Work Group convened to develop and recommend options for the long-term governance arrangements for the Alliance. Options to be based on research and consultation.
March 2003	Funding submission finalised for Federal Regional Assistance Program support for Phase 2 of the Planning Process via the Geelong Area Consultative Committee
February 21, 2003	John Stevens from Dench McClean Carlson is contracted following the tendering for a strategic planning facilitation support representative for phase one of the project. This work includes the development and publication of the first Geelong Region Strategic Plan by October 1, 2003 and the establishment of structures to facilitate the implementation of the plan (Phase 2).
February 17, 2003	The G21 team officially start with a Project Manager - Rob McHenry and a Project Officer - Simone Beekmans . The G21 team start working from Customs House in Brougham Street Geelong .
February 2003	Pillar Planning Workshops conducted by Health & Wellbeing, Sport & Recreation, Education and Research Pillars.
November 30, 2002	CoGG Corporate Planning Manager and Project Officer seconded to the Alliance for 12 Months.
November 22, 2002	Leadership Group Meetings commence. These meetings are aimed at fostering and guiding the delivery of the Strategic Regional Plan. A meeting of Mayors, Chief Executive Officer&s and volunteer Pillar leaders was called. At this meeting, the G21 project manager placed all the benefits, feedback, issues and opportunities on the table for discussion. The meeting outcome resulted in strong regional support, the project being titled the &Geelong Region Strategic Alliance&. A &Leadership Group& was formed and Terms of Reference agreed in principle. The principles of the alliance and a draft Project Plan were also agreed.
November 12, 2002	A report was adopted by the City of Greater Geelong Council with the recommendation: "That Council agrees in principle to continue discussions with regional councils on the development of a &Geelong Regional Planning Partnership&."
November 11, 2002	The initiative receives State Government support of the concept and potential funding of $150,000 was announced conditional on the project being on a &dollar for dollar& basis - based on the involvement of five local councils.
October 22, 2002	Regional Councilc met to discuss how the project might move ahead through the establishment of draft Terms of Reference, Principles, Success Factors and a Project Plan. This forum determined that a meeting of Councils with the people volunteering to lead the Pillars was essential.
	A second forum for regional Councils, community and business leaders was held . This forum discussed the overall concept and sought agreement in principle to proceed. As a result, general agreement was given and key people volunteered to lead each of the nine Pillars.
August 12, 2002	A meeting of regional Councils was convened to brief and ascertain the level of support for a regional approach to planning. The result was positive and a forum was planned to involve those originally consulted in February.
February to August 2002	Work continues in the City of Greater Geelong to develop a "Foundation Document" based on 9 themes or "Pillars".
February 28, 2002	The first consultation forum was held at the National Wool Museum . Sixty community and business leaders attended from across the wider Geelong region.