Alice Springs Town Council
WHY THEY NEEDED OUR SUPPORT & WHAT THEY WANTED TO GAIN
Council sought support due to several growing challenges within our events portfolio.
Our capacity to leverage events for broader social and economic value had become increasingly limited due to high demand, social for financial and organisation support from community groups.
In a regional town like ours, the reliance on direct Council funding rather than more strategic organisation support, often created pressure on resources and restricted opportunities to maximise community benefit. Consequently, the delivery and support of events became more, less efficient, and not consistently aligned with Council objectives.
Additionally, internal event processes and coordination were not fully aligned with best practice. Several longstanding community events had begun to exceed their operational capacity, highlighting the need for more sustainable and innovative delivery models. This prompted a review of existing systems, with the aim of developing a clearer, valuesdriven and strategically informed approach to event planning, assessment, and delivery.
External support was therefore essential to assist Council in refining its processes, strengthening internal alignment, and building more focused on future events framework.
WHAT THEY GAINED FROM PARTICIPATING
During the program, we adopted a more purposeful and strategic approach to evaluating the events and projects we support. We placed greater emphasis on understanding the underlying purpose of each initiative and its potential impact on the broader community. This assessment led to several significant internal improvements, including clearer role description within our team and a strengthened distinction between organisational motivation and strategic intent.
We reviewed roles and departmental responsibilities related to event planning and delivery to fill some gaps that became apparent during the Event Leadership Program.
This process identified opportunities to improve clarity, consistency and workflow for external event organisers. As a result, we updated the Community Support Guidelines, refined the processes for grant and sponsorship funding, and streamlined the provision of inkind support. Collectively, these updates have contributed to a more transparent, user friendly, and efficient framework that enhances Council’s capacity to support events in a sustainable and strategically aligned manner.
TOP 3 LEARNINGS/OUTCOMES
We strengthened our approach to event support by shifting towards long term capacity building approach rather than ongoing operational involvement.
A key learning was the importance of empowering event organisers to plan and deliver their own events with reduced dependency on Council. To support this, we promote applying for a threeyear event sponsorship model designed to provide stability and encourage strategic planning which have been often underutilised by applicants as perceived to be “too much of a commitment”. In result, responsibility for a multicultural event previously delivered for three consecutive years by Council was successfully transitioned to local community groups, with an invitation to seek sponsorship and inkind assistance through established support programs. This shift has increased community ownership while maintaining structured and transparent access to Council resources.
Another change of approach and successful partnership with the local Chinese community group resulted in agreement that Council will lead delivery of 2026 Lunar New Year as a capacity building initiative, with the intention for the community group to take over full event leadership in 2027.
Council also developed more efficient and consistent internal processes to improve the way events are coordinated and supported. The introduction of mapping tools and an online planning tracker has enhanced oversight, streamlined workflows, and improved communication across departments, plus keeps us on time with all small tasks.
Furthermore, we increased its use of external suppliers for event delivery, which has contributed to more efficient operations while supporting local small businesses and creative practitioners on an ongoing basis.
