Venture Taranaki have published the final Transition Pathway Action Plans (TPAPs) as part of the Taranaki 2050 Roadmap, completing the action planning stage of the programme and adding momentum to the work already underway with implementation.

The final TPAPs published at the end of August 2020 cover Tourism, Regulation, and Metrics and Evaluation. They add to the already-published TPAPs: Energy, Food and Fibre, Arts, Health and Wellbeing, People and Talent, Innovation and R&D, Infrastructure and Transport, and Environmental Sciences.

“Taranaki 2050 is ensuring that as our region and lives shift towards a low-emissions future, we have a clear vision and series of actions that will enable that shift to be one all benefit from” says Taranaki 2050 Programme Manager, Charlotte Littlewood.

The Taranaki 2050 Roadmap was co-designed by the region, for the region, and was published in August 2019. The Roadmap considers not just how Taranaki’s economy will change, but takes a holistic approach, factoring in a multitude of aspects to support and enrich the lives of those in the community, and providing the opportunity to plan for inclusive growth.

“Along with the rest of New Zealand, we faced challenges in delivering the final TPAPs in the wake of COVID-19 and the resulting lockdown period. I’m extremely pleased that we were able to remain agile thoughout this period, delivering the TPAPs during and after the COVID-19 lockdown, and working with our community to do so, in what was a time of challenge and change.

“Through this process we were able to further support the focus on an enduring vision of a low-emissions economy, building on the strengths of the region, and overlaying the relevant environmental context to ensure the TPAPs acknowledged and accounted for the current climate”, explained Charlotte.

Based on the co-design themes and the emerging opportunities identified in the Taranaki 2050 Roadmap, the TPAP methodology took the opportunities identified in the Roadmap and channelled them into a set of tangible actions to define the short-term actions and medium-term strategy needed to achieve the region’s long-term vision for 2050.

The development of the TPAPs has been a huge undertaking, including running 28 workshops. Over the last year this process has involved hundreds of people across the seven pou of community, businesses, local government, central government, iwi, and education.

COVID-19 was a challenge no one could have predicted, and like many throughout New Zealand and across Taranaki the project needed to adapt and respond accordingly to remain on track, and to continue under the alert levels of the day.

“The challenges that presented due to COVID-19 meant we had to adapt our process, adding different engagement methods such as surveys, Zoom hui and one-on-one meetings,” said Charlotte.

“Despite the restrictions, we’ve reached the significant milestone of having the TPAPs published and delivered on time. I’d like to acknowledge the support from the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment, and all the people from the community who have volunteered time to this process”, says Charlotte.

Throughout the process the Taranaki 2050 team have been overwhelmed with the community’s passion and commitment for our region. It is clear there is the excitement, energy and momentum needed to achieve our vision for Taranaki in 2050.

While some actions in the pathway plans are already underway (eg regenerative agriculture, Ara Ake now established), the next phase involves gathering a clear picture of progress and priorities across all the pathway action plans, and working to ensure funding (private and public), support and resources are in place to keep momentum moving.

The Transition Pathway Action Plans are available here: http://about.taranaki.info/Taranaki2050/What-is-a-just-transition-(1).aspx

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