Dr. Phil Driver's presentation focuses on inspiring climate action in New Zealand through strategic frameworks and community engagement. It stresses the need to motivate individuals for climate mitigation and adaptation, highlighting examples of successful projects that inspire broader stakeholder involvement. The key takeaway is the importance of creating compelling narratives around climate initiatives to drive action and realize benefits.

1. Inspiring Climate Action
Dr Phil Driver
• Author of:
– “Validating Strategies – Linking Projects and Results to Uses and Benefits”
– “From Woe to Flow” – Validating and Implementing Strategies”
• Founder of OpenStrategies Ltd
• Lecturer in strategy in NZ, Australia, the UK and Germany
• Background in business, science, technology and the public sector

2. Today’s presentation
1. NZ’s climate change strategic environment
2. PRUB-Logic for inspiring climate action
3. Inspiring an example adaptation/mitigation
project
4. Summary

3. NZ Climate Change Strategic Environment
• Complex (unknown-unknowns – new territory for everyone)
• Freshwater reforms
• Resource Management Act reform
• Infrastructure challenges e.g. ‘3 waters’
• Biodiversity/sustainability
• Inter-generational (acute and chronic)
• Mitigation (voluntary?)
• Adaptation (forced?)
• Organisations/governance/communities/iwi/
individuals (all overlapping/many potential conflicts)

4. Outputs, outcomes, mission, goals, objectives, framework,
vision, status, cross-cutting-themes, aspirations, strategies,
plans, collaboration, cooperation, competition, values,
structures, KPIs, tasks, accountabilities, responsibilities,
principles, tactics, actions, directions, issues, factors,
priorities, benefits, benefits-realisation, impacts, purpose,
capacity, capabilities, forecasts, scenarios, drivers-for-
change, data, information, knowledge, wisdom….
and sometimes ‘implementation’
Human cognitive limits

5. Our key principle
The smallest amount of strategic information…
that has the highest value…
to the most people

6. Create assets that enable & motivate people to Use assets to create Benefits
P R U B

7. PRUB Climate Action
Projects Results Uses Benefits
Build climate
mitigation and
adaptation
assets/services
(e.g.
cycleways)
Climate
mitigation
and
adaptation
assets and
services are
available and
accessible
People Use
the climate
mitigation
and
adaptation
assets and
services
Climate
mitigation and
adaptation
Benefits
(economic,
environmental,
social, cultural)
1. It is primarily Uses that create Benefits (mitigation and adaptation)
2. Most Uses are voluntary. They must be motivated by compulsion or inspiration
3. Climate adaptation will be forced on us by nature
4. Climate mitigation will mostly be optional (unless regulated)

8. Only Uses create Benefits
(an inconvenient truth)

9. Climate action?
• We mostly know what needs doing to mitigate and adapt
to climate change
• Why aren’t we doing it?
• We’re not sufficiently motivated (compelled or inspired)
• Project managers generally cannot ‘compel’
actions/Uses
• So we need to ‘inspire’ Uses

10. Compelling and inspiring climate action
1. Adaptation
Will require convincing, pragmatic business cases that motivate
stakeholders
2. Mitigation
Will require inspirational Results and communications that
motivate stakeholders

11. Mitigation/adaptation - tell a better project story
Can projects be modified,
or even just re-defined,
so as to increasingly inspire action
from all stakeholders?

12. Mitigation/adaptation planting project
• Plant trees and shrubs in catchments and alongside waterways
to reduce flooding caused by climate change and to capture
carbon
• Is that practical and useful (yes!)
• Is that inspiring? (hmmmm….)

13. Mitigation/adaptation planting story – Uses
Inspiration Uses
Reduce flooding with slower water People live safely beside rivers
Regular water flows due to slower water People irrigate, fish, boat and swim in regularly flowing
rivers
Bring the tuis back to Timaru People enjoy the bell-like sound of tuis
Breed more whitebait People catch and eat healthy whitebait
Absorb nitrates People and critters use water safely
Produce biomass/firewood/capture carbon People keep warm and offset emissions
Provide homes for bats Bats consume mosquitos
Attract pollinators Insects more effectively pollinate crops
Create beauty People enjoy the enhanced environment
Earn farmers their social licence to operate Farmers operate with public support
Free fruit and nuts People harvesting fruit and nuts
Other? Ask your communities

14. Mitigation/adaptation planting story – inspire
Inspiration Who will this inspire?
Reduce flooding with slower water Adjacent landowners
Regular water flows due to slower water Irrigators, swimmers, boaties, fishermen
Bring the tuis back to Timaru City folk, nature lovers, farmers
Breed more whitebait Tangata whenua (Māori), whitebait eaters
Absorb nitrates Environmentalists, swimmers, water-drinkers,
fishermen, boaties
Produce biomass/firewood/capture carbon Locals who need firewood/mulch/fodder and want to
offset their emissions
Provide homes for bats Nature-lovers, locals (fewer mosquitos)
Attract pollinators Farmers who need their crops pollinated
Create beauty Farmers, walkers, fishermen, boaties, nature lovers
Earn farmers their social licence to operate Farmers
Free fruit and nuts Everyone who likes fruit and nuts
Other? Ask your communities

15. Mitigation/adaptation planting story – Results of Projects
Inspiration Results of Projects
Reduce flooding with slower water Swales, water-holding plants and wetlands
Regular water flows due to slower water Swales, water-holding plants and wetlands
Bring the tuis back to Timaru Nectar-rich trees and shrubs with long flowering
seasons
Breed more whitebait Native grasses along riverbanks
Absorb nitrates Nitrogen-absorbing plants
Produce biomass/firewood/capture carbon Fast growing trees (nectar-rich manuka)
Provide homes for bats Trees that will create roosts
Attract pollinators Plants that suit a range of pollinators
Create beauty Aesthetically pleasing landscapes
Earn farmers their social licence to operate Plantings obvious and widely promoted
Free fruit and nuts Include fruit and nut trees amongst plantings
Other? Ask your communities

16. Did that cost more?
There were few additional costs in
making the story more inspiring
for many different stakeholders

17. Summary for project managers
Create inspiring stories (7+)
for every Project

18. For more information
Dr Phil Driver,
Visiting lecturer, Cologne University of Applied Sciences
CEO, OpenStrategies Ltd
Author: Validating Strategies – Linking Projects and Results to Uses and Benefits
http://www.gowerpublishing.com/isbn/9781472427816
Author: “From Woe to Flow – Validating and Implementing Strategies (2020)
www.openstrategies.com
phildriver@openstrategies.com
+64 (0)21 0236 5861

19. Extra slides that may help with questions

20. Comments
1. Only asset-creating Projects (Project
#5) and Uses actually impact on
catchment management.
2. Many Projects create Orphan Results
– which must be Adopted. If they can’t
be Adopted then the Projects should
be stopped.
3. Links must be supported by compelling
Evidence.
4. Strategies frequently fail in one of two
places (dashed arrows):
Orphan Results don’t get Adopted
Uses don’t happen as expected
5. This SubStrategy has just 17 PRUB-
boxes but will still stretch some
people’s cognitive ability, hence
Driver’s Law

21. Structure of a Strategy
Set of Values
Set of Fundamental Principles
A high-level SubStrategy (4-8 boxes) (PRUB)
A suite of SubStrategies consisting of
SubStrategies that are generic – they affect the entire strategy
SubStrategies that are specific – they affect parts of the strategy
Some narratives as well