Figure 3 : City of Newcastle E-Library , E-audio , E-book and E-Newspaper loans , 2019-2020
Source : City of Newcastle , E-Library Administrative Data Collection .
“ The library is something I value to access - being able to continue to access the library despite lockdown was a great relief ” - Survey participant
Learnings for Economic Development Practitioners : The key learning is the importance of comprehensively understanding the depth of resources and programs available within your own organisation before creating / establishing new projects . Feedback from CN staff through the evaluation process suggested that the team responsible for delivery of library services had not adequately promoted their program offering internally in the past . This was demonstrated through limited awareness amongst CN staff from other departments about some of the library programs , including online learning applications . Enabling existing strengths is fundamental to sound economic development practice .
CONCLUSION The evaluation of the City of Newcastle ’ s Community and Economic Resilience Package completed by HRF Centre , University of Newcastle found that the speed , well-rounded approach to program design and new ways of working for Council were key strengths . This
article has unpacked four programs from the Resilience Package in detail and highlighted key learnings for economic development practitioners . These learnings include the need for targeted programs at the local government level that complement state and federal government initiatives , the value of working in new ways and across teams to best martial available resources , the significance of quick wins to lay the foundation for larger programs and the importance of getting timing right in program implementation .
Many of the programs implemented as part of the Community and Economic Resilience Package have continued beyond the peak of the local economic crisis and highlight the positive legacy they are providing for the City of Newcastle . The learnings have been embedded in the City of Newcastle ’ s new
Economic Development Strategy , which lays out a strategic economic vision for the city over the next ten years .
The full evaluation report on the City of Newcastle ’ s Community and Economic Resilience package can be found
online . The report includes key references , methodology and full survey outputs .
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
MR SIMON MASSEY : Simon is the Economic Strategy & Government Relations Manager at the City of Newcastle and was the project lead for the Community and Economic Resilience Package . Simon ’ s background is in Demography and Economics and he has a range of experience across both state and local government . Simon was a Churchill Fellowship Recipient in 2018 .
DR ANTHEA BILL Anthea is the Hunter Research Foundation ( HRF ) Centre ’ s University of Newcastle , Lead Economist and has a particular interest in economic and socio-spatial analysis . She has two decades of qualitative and quantitative research experience working in academic , commercial consultancy and government contexts .
MS KRISTINE GIDDY Kris is a MPhil Candidate with the School of Humanities and Social Science , University of Newcastle . Kris is a qualitative researcher with over who brings fifteen years ’ experience . Kris has worked in dedicated research roles for her entire career , including work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse ( CALD ) communities and in Social Impact Assessment .
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