DECENTRALISATION is a hot topic at the moment, with arguments on both sides there are a few things that seem to be forgotten when discussing the matter. The movement of a business from an urban to a rural location is not simply a case of getting closer to your customers, shareholders or members.
What purpose do you serve for them and what do they rely on you for? If either of those can’t be defined, sustained and hopefully improved by a relocation, then there may be a few problems.
I live in a rural area, and I’m a great advocate for decentralisation of business and services where feasible and possible, in a way that ensures organisations can stay sustainable and maintain or improve what they exist for. I have undertaken this in my professional life and am the first to admit that it poses significant challenges, a few of which include: network issues; distance from other members of the team; logistics of being close to business partners; and, access to support services.
None of these have been insurmountable for me, but it takes time and I probably underestimated the effort required to make these things work. They are the tip of the iceberg.
There have been a lot of comments and criticisms thrown around and back at various organisations for their views on decentralisation, it is not a one-size-fits-all process.
The FFN office – last month – made the move to Tamworth, headed by our executive officer, Toby Locke.
This move took quite a while to work through, addressing the above-mentioned issues and many more financial, management, relationship and communication elements needing to be managed and addressed in the process.
The drivers for the move included; being closer to members; key staff wanting to return to a rural lifestyle; new opportunities to be pursued. The choice of location was driven by many of these factors also, and for us, Tamworth ticked all the boxes.
We are a small example but the principles, I believe, are the same. It should not just be a business or image-based choice, it involves people, their livelihoods and the communities in which they live or will be living.
From our last FFN member survey, our members said they would love more direct access to professional services and being closer to some of their service providers, there is however a sentiment coming through engagement and discussion that they also appreciate the fact that where they live may not necessarily be able to provide what is required to sustain such organisations and maintain the quality of the information or services they rely upon.
It was fantastic to see last week’s strong agreement and backing by the government for a new inquiry put forward by independent MP Cathy McGowan into regional development and decentralisation and that the issues around it need to be properly examined.
- Dan Korff, Future Farmers chairman
