of the JCTA with the heritage of its founding members hailing from Greece, Italy, France, Lebanon, China, and Australia. Their commitment to the development of the centre and its businesses accelerated the organisation through Stage 1 to delivering initiatives in Stage 2 in under twelve months. In partnership with Council, they developed a strategic plan with printed and digital versions available in English, Mandarin, and Farsi, consisting of nineteen actions and four primary goals focussed on:
Figure 3.
• Marketing, promotion, and events
• Look and feel of the centre
• Business support and development
• Building the governance and operational capacity of the JCTA
Stage 2 involves Council staff being active in the delivery of programs and activities working in partnership with businesses and the trader group whilst providing them with knowledge and experience to build their capacity. This stage will establish and grow the trader group’ s visibility and begin to develop their reputation for delivering initiatives on behalf of their members. A corresponding level of financial support from Council( or other sources) is crucial to enable the delivery of actions within the groups new strategic plan. Stage 2 will clearly demonstrate that the program is a partnership between Council and the trader group, therefore inclusive of all businesses within the activity centre( see Figure 3.).
A trader group moving to Stage 3 will only be achieved when they have built their capacity to deliver initiatives, and they have established a reputation amongst their members. This stage is an important step in the trader group evolution as Council is able to decrease its focus on delivering projects together and move to a facilitation role leaving the trader group to plan and deliver initiatives itself. At this stage it is possible to capitalise on the successful delivery of projects to begin a conversation with traders on voluntary subscriptions to fund future projects. If this is not achieved, the trader group will continue to rely on financial support from Council moving back to Stage 2. Council staff will assist in the delivery of projects until the trader group’ s reputation grows further and a second attempt is made at gaining financial support from their trading community.
Stage 4 in the Trader Group Partnership Program is undertaken when financial independence is achieved, and the trader group is operating at an elevated level of service delivery for its members. The Council role will move to one of support and advice with financial contributions no longer required. It is at this stage that a conversation can begin around establishing a special rate scheme. The importance of this level of sustainable funding, results in a trader group being able to establish long term goals as opposed to uncertainty when grant funding or similar is relied on, and actions cannot be planned beyond the current financial year.
JACKSON COURT TRADERS ASSOCIATION – A MULTICULTURAL ORGANISATION Jackson Court was selected as the activity centre to trial the Trader Group Partnership Program due to the level of consultation previously undertaken and the importance placed by traders on recovering and growing the centre. Council provided a dedicated resource to the program who worked closely with the traders to gain a holistic and historical understanding of the centre. This included determining the personality of the centre and identifying place-based initiatives to enhance the look and feel. This initial process built trust and allowed the identification of early adopters who worked with Council and later became the inaugural members of the new Jackson Court Traders Association( JCTA).
The true multicultural nature of Jackson Court is realised through the composition
Over the expected 25-year lifespan of the sign, Council’ s one-off $ 80,000 investment for construction will result in $ 600,000 being directly invested back into Jackson Court businesses through the JCTA’ s delivery of strategic goals, determined by their member businesses.
Council was able to support the rapid growth of the JCTA by advancing a Stage 4 deliverable in achieving a level of sustainable funding to support the delivery of strategic goals. New business signage was constructed at the entrance to the centre with the pylon advertising twenty businesses as opposed to five previously. The sign generates $ 24,000 per annum from business advertising which is provided directly to the JCTA. Over the expected 25-year lifespan of the sign, Council’ s one-off $ 80,000 investment for construction will result in $ 600,000 being directly invested back into Jackson Court businesses through the JCTA’ s delivery of strategic goals, determined by their member businesses.
“ The JCTA appreciates the ongoing support provided through the Trader Group Partnership Program with Manningham Council. Our association
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