Litter Hotspots Program Evaluation Report
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Final Report Litter Hotspots Program Final Evaluation Prepared for Metropolitan Waste and Resource Recovery Group Litter Hotspots Program Final Evaluation—Final Report Company information First Person Consulting Pty Ltd ABN 98 605 466 797 www.fpconsulting.com.au Suite 3, Level 2, 190 Queen Street Melbourne VIC 3000 Contact Patrick Gilmour 03 9600 1778 [email protected] Document details: Title: Final Report – Litter Hotspots Final Evaluation Authors: Rebecca Denniss, Danielle Clarke, Patrick Gilmour Version: Final Revision date: 5 October 2017 Client: Metropolitan Waste and Resource Recovery Group Prepared for MWRRG i Litter Hotspots Program Final Evaluation—Final Report Executive summary Background The Metropolitan Waste Resource Recovery Group (MWRRG) is a Victorian Government statutory body responsible for coordinating and facilitating the delivery of municipal solid waste management across Melbourne’s 31 metropolitan local governments. From 2014-2017, MWRRG delivered the Litter Hotspots Program (the Program) in partnership with the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP), funded through the Victorian Government's Sustainability Fund. To meet funding requirements, a full final evaluation of the Program has been undertaken in accordance with the Department of Treasury and Finance (DTF) Lapsing Program Guidelines (Guidelines). This document is the Final Report for the Litter Hotspots Final Evaluation. The Litter Hotspots Program The Program was developed as a pilot in 2013 by MWRRG. The 2013 pilot attracted strong interest from stakeholders and received an additional $1.9 million in funding to implement a more comprehensive three-year program in 2014—ending on 30 June 2017. The Litter Hotspots Program’s stated objectives are to: 1. support the implementation of best-practice litter prevention projects 2. develop partnerships in order to capacity build litter prevention projects 3. improve personal responsibility for litter disposal and prevention 4. improve the amenity of public spaces that impact upon the water quality of the Yarra River and Port Phillip Bay. The Litter Hotspots Program is a catchment-wide capacity building program with a strong partnership focus that has supported and funded 35 local government and community grants projects since 2013 (including 10 pilot projects, which are outside the scope of this evaluation). The Program brought together a combination of government and community partners, influencing leading litter prevention practice and yielding strong partnership, community engagement and litter prevention outcomes. The Program aimed to either build or enhance litter management skills, depending on the skills of each grant recipient. Funded projects ranged from designing new waste technology to attempting to eradicate single-use plastic bags. Evaluation objectives and approach In addition to meeting the requirements of the DTF Guidelines, the objectives of the evaluation were to: undertake a full evaluation of the Litter Hotspots Program to assess performance of the Program against key questions outlined in the funding agreement between DELWP and MWRRG produce a final evaluation report that includes key findings, achievements, outcomes, lessons learned and recommendations to guide future decision making and delivery of future litter prevention initiatives. Prepared for MWRRG ii Litter Hotspots Program Final Evaluation—Final Report In meeting these objectives, and building on ongoing evaluation, monitoring and improvement processes throughout the Program, First Person Consulting undertook an evaluation of the Litter Hotspots Program focused on four key areas: effectiveness, program delivery, justification and value, and looking to the future. This involved: a review and gap analysis of existing evaluation data and program management documentation; undertaking 28 semi-structured phone interviews with MWRRG delivery staff (3), key stakeholders (5) and a selection of project officers from the 25 funded projects (20); analysis and synthesis of all data sources in response to evaluation questions under the four key areas. Key findings The key findings emerging from the Litter Hotspots Program Final Evaluation are summarised below. Effectiveness The Litter Hotspots Program either achieved or made strong progress towards achieving all four stated program objectives. Significant, demonstrable outcomes were achieved across the areas of best practice litter prevention, developing partnerships to build capacity, increasing responsibility for litter disposal and prevention, and improving the amenity of public spaces impacting on the water quality of the Yarra River and Port Phillip Bay. Key achievements of the Litter Hotspots Program include: o Funding projects that targeted diverse audiences, for example, trader groups, school students, businesses, industry organisations, local communities, dog-walkers and smokers. o 382 litter hotspot sites targeted with litter interventions, and an overall improvement in the litter ‘Hotshot’ score across hotspot sites. o $332,753 in additional funding contributed by funded organisations and project delivery partners, and $1,138,870 of in-kind contributions leveraged from funded organisations and project delivery partners. o The creation of 267 new partnerships between organisations on litter management initiatives. o Engagement with 13,227 participants across funded initiatives, 492 community events and 355 media articles and publications. o 175,230 kilograms of litter collected, and 3,317 additional litter infrastructure units installed (for example, bins). o Wide demographic and geographic reach of funded projects across the catchment. At the Program level, consultation, communications and engagement were effective throughout the Litter Hotspots Program. The Program successfully established an ongoing network in the litter prevention space, and broadened and diversified the range of community, council and business organisations partnering on litter prevention initiatives. The majority of organisations funded through the Program have continued to deliver outcomes in litter management beyond the funding period, sometimes as a direct result of the Litter Hotspots Program. Prepared for MWRRG iii Litter Hotspots Program Final Evaluation—Final Report A key characteristic of the Litter Hotspots Program was its alignment and commitment to improving the implementation of litter prevention in metropolitan Melbourne, based on the Victorian Litter Action Alliance’s (VLAA) best practice model. Program delivery The Litter Hotspots Program was generally delivered within scope, on budget and on time. The Program was delivered with relative efficiency and economy. MWRRG demonstrated appropriate governance and risk management practices in delivering the Litter Hotspots Program. Overall, MWRRG is seen to have effectively managed the Litter Hotspots Program between 2014 and 2017. Justification and value Overall, the Litter Hotspots Program provided value, evidenced by the outcomes achieved, and contributed to meeting a demonstrable need. Funding for the Litter Hotspots Program has not been renewed and the Program will be discontinued. However, there is still a need for Victorian Government intervention in litter prevention. Generally, the Litter Hotspots Program was well aligned with Victorian Government priorities, policies and strategies (including those of MWRRG, DELWP and Sustainability Victoria (SV)). During the course of the Program, alignment was strengthened throughout the portfolio with the release of the Victorian Waste Education Strategy, the Victorian Litter Plan and the Metropolitan Waste and Resource Recovery Implementation Plan. Looking to the future The key identified success factor in the Litter Hotspots Program was MWRRG’s management and administration of the Program. A key success factor was the partnership component of projects, but also the collaborative component of the Program itself. Through reflecting on lessons learned from the Litter Hotspots Programs, the following success factors were identified as contributing to the most effective litter interventions: o taking a collaborative, catchment-wide approach o effective engagement with the community o maintaining momentum in intervention approaches and engagement with the community and project partners o capacity building and knowledge sharing with other projects through a community of practice o implementing and developing the best practice model, utilising a range of approaches and activities o targeting litter prevention at the source o others also included: establishing buy-in with delivery organisations and partners, particularly stakeholders at senior levels; effective project planning and strong governance mechanisms; targeting and tailoring interventions (for example, using Prepared for MWRRG iv Litter Hotspots Program Final Evaluation—Final Report culturally appropriate communications); investing in research; and using positive messaging and consistent communications. Four key suggestions for Program level improvements emerged through this evaluation— simplifying application and reporting processes, supporting momentum and ongoing funding for litter prevention interventions, providing grants for 18-month durations as opposed to 12 months or three years, and continuing to develop the catchment-wide approach to litter management. Key ongoing challenges for litter management in metropolitan Melbourne identified through this evaluation include: o balancing support