Abstract
A three-year program of evaluation has tracked the effectiveness of new regional arrangements for natural resource management in seventeen regions in northern Australia. These arrangements promote non-statutory 'regional bodies' as the focal point of integrating NRM efforts in regions through collaborative planning. Evaluation criteria explored contextual, structural, process and outcome-based aspects of these initiatives. Some of the more significant themes in the analysis include the impacts of political commitment, clarity of roles and responsibilities in regions, and, assumptions underpinning target setting for regional resource condition. Findings against the criteria have been used to inform adaptive management of policy, governance and planning practices underpinning these arrangements.