The search for good ideas, or solutions to problems, often leads one to look over the proverbial back fence to see what our neighbour, colleague or competitor is up to. At a park management level it is not uncommon for staff in a park, regional or head office to find out how their counterparts in another state or territory have handled a particular issue. There is a Ministerial Council, separate Standing Committees on Environment and Conservation, and a number of permanent and temporary working groups and task forces. The Working Group on National Parks and Protected Area Management has been established with terms of reference to 'identify issues and report on matters relating to the selection, planning and management of national parks and protected areas and the development of staff involved in their management'. The working group comprises representatives of each state and territory park service, Environment Australia and New Zealand's Department of Conservation.
Most representatives have operational and planning coordination positions in their agencies.
The working group has traditionally been a forum for the exchange of information and analysis of common issues in park management and has often provided the Standing Committee on Conservation and the Ministerial Council with advice on initiatives in park management. However, the group was concerned that many of its deliberations were ad hoc, and not necessarily addressing priority issues. With this in mind the group negotiated to begin a more formal and structured benchmarking and best practice program, concentrating on the development of best practice models for protected area management. Benchmarking has been used for many years in industry to achieve a competitive advantage in the manufacture and sale of products, and more recently, in the provision of services. In 1993 the National Industry Extension Service published the Benchmarking Self Help Manual to assist Australian organisations.