Organisation Island Government of Tenerife – Department of Sustainability, Environment and Safety
Date July 2016
Location. Tenerife
Project. Strategic Document 2016-2020
02 | Area Board: a collaborative space in which to integrate and encourage leadership
Client
The Sustainability, Environment and Safety Area is responsible for the management of protected areas and forestry, hunting, waste, environmental education and public use of the island. Its scope of work covers almost 50% of the island’s territory, with almost 100,000 hectares (more than 247,000 acres) of protected areas and woodlands.
This large, protected area coexists with one of the highest population densities in Spain.
The opportunity
The Sustainability, Environment and Safety Area, which comprises 9 Technical Services, had just undergone a restructuring process aimed at improving the transversal integration of the different departments. This restructuring process had two main effects: it redistributed the technical staff and, as a first step, it integrated the budgets into a Strategic Framework for Island Development that the Island Government is now promoting throughout the corporation. However, there was no real strategic umbrella to structure and bring the actions into line with the ultimate goal of the different services.
The solution
Starting from a first draft and by means of a series of workshops with the different Technical Services, we created an inclusive and consensual Strategic Document that has defined a shared direction for all the Area’s different departments.
In addition, among the actions that were defined, several transversal structures have been created, including the Area Board, an innovative and dynamic working space that identifies, analyses and resolves the Area’s needs at a transversal level.
The objectives of this Board are as follows:
(1) Streamline internal functioning so that priority issues and particularly the Area’s strategic objectives progress at a good pace.
(2) Resolve issues that fall outside the remit of each of the different Services.
(3) Be a space where decisions can be made and agreements reached, and where those same agreements can be held to account.
(4) Promote transversal collaboration at the Area level.
(5) Generate and convey a leadership culture based on effectiveness, collaboration, being results-oriented and making things happen, thereby allowing those in charge of the projects to achieve the objectives, being held accountable at all times.
