Abstract
The success of natural resource management (NRM) is largely defined by an improvement in the condition of one or more natural assets. However, NRM is a social process, where those asset improvements are dependent on the capacity of society to have positive impacts. The results of a three-year mutli-institutional project on healthy regional planning systems (through benchmark reports and a case study on community engagement) show that no regions in northern Australia have adequately committed to the monitoring and evaluation of attributes needed to 'enable' on-ground outcomes. Australian regions, through the new regional arrangements, are in a position to be able to jointly monitor and evaluate both on-ground outcomes, as well as 'enabling' outcomes through systematic monitoring of institutional processes and other capacity attributes (eg. through performance indicators and targets). Improved capacity for NRM may be further enhanced through: (i) mechanisms to promote knowledge sharing among NRM practitioners; (ii) clarification and transparency in roles and responsibilities within NRM institutions; (iii) balancing reactive and proactive institutional approaches; and (iv) mechanisms to improve the link between NRM facilitators and decision makers.