Understanding your authorising environment

Before you start designing your smart place, you need to understand any approvals that might be needed. These will depend on:

• where you work, or the organisation you are representing
• who owns the land and/or assets on the land
• the scale and type of smart technologies you might explore
• funding you may need and its likely sources.

You may need planning approvals, there may be legal requirements to consider, and regulations may also apply.

If you are working at a council, you may need council approvals and may need some funding identified in annual budgets.

In the NSW Government, you may need Cabinet approval, and assurance processes may apply.

While you won't know the level of investment needed yet, you should find out delegations that apply and the thresholds for approvals.

You will also need to know what information is needed to support future approvals. This may include:

• technical specifications
• evidence of community support
• project plans
• funding sources
• risk management plans.

Early engagement with project approvers will help you to identify their information needs and may help build early support for initiatives.