FURTHER REPORT - ENVIRONMENT PROJECT GRANTS (ROUND 21) (referred from General Committee dated 9 June 2026 Item 7.14) · Report

ORDINARY MEETING                                                                     18 JUNE 2026


tangible and measurable outcomes. The current total FY26/27 budget for the Environment Project
Grants is $35,000.

Nine applications were received for the current round for a funding request totalling $162,282. In
accordance with the Environmental Grants Guidelines each application was assessed by a panel of
three officers against the following criteria:




Applications were open from 9 February 2026 until 23 March 2026.

Promotion for the grant included:
•   Social media advertising
•   Specific email to all non-for-profit community groups previously applied for the grants or may be
    interested in applying for the grants
•   Direct conversations with NRM Groups, sustainability groups and community groups to ensure
    awareness
•   Details published on Noosa Council’s website
The grant required the applicant to engage with a relevant Council officer prior to submitting the
application.

This round introduced more robust governance enhancements to improve defensibility, objectivity
and transparency of the evaluation process. To ensure the integrity of the program, the assessment
methodology was executed in four phases:
•   Phase 1: Probity and Conflict of Interest (COI) Screening
        o   Upon receipt of applications, all assessing officers from the Strategy & Environment
            directorate completed mandatory COI declarations. To eliminate any real or perceived
            bias, officers with a declared COI, or those who had engaged with applicants prior to
            submission, were strictly excluded from the assessment process.

•   Phase 2: Technical Expert Review
        o   Before panel evaluation, subject matter experts conducted an initial technical appraisal
            of each application. This ensured all proposed projects were rigorously vetted for
            technical validity, execution capacity, quality, relevance, and risk management.

•   Phase 3: Cross-Disciplinary Panel Evaluation